[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 16, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1404-H1410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. LUMMIS. 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 on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
There was no objection.
Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleagues for a Special Order
about Women's History Month.
This month of March we are blessed with the opportunity to discuss
the opportunities particularly presented by the Republican Party and
the philosophies of the Republican Party as they relate to women,
women's history and women's future and the opportunity to be involved
in building women up and providing opportunities in the future, an
opportunity culture that is shared by men and women to make sure that
our homeland is safe and secure, to make sure that our families are in
an environment that will be uplifting. These are some of the topics we
will be discussing today.
I am joined by several colleagues, one of whom I would like to call
on first. Incidentally, the first colleague I am calling on is a
Republican man with whom I graduated from law school as a student at
the University of Wyoming College of Law.
My own home State of Wyoming is the first government in the world to
continuously grant women the right to vote. That occurred in 1869.
Colorado, the home State of this gentleman, is the first State to grant
women the right to vote.
I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Buck).
Mr. BUCK. I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming, my friend and law
school classmate, for her great leadership on this issue.
I am proud to come from a State that was not only the first to give
women the right to vote, but the first to elect women to the State
legislature. My wife Perry is continuing that great tradition as a
member of the Colorado General Assembly.
Many women have impacted our neighborhoods, our communities, and our
Nation. But I want to speak briefly today about the many women who will
impact our world.
They have ideas and ambitions and callings. They have machines to
invent, deals to negotiate, people to heal, diseases to cure, and
legislation to pass.
Republicans are advancing an agenda to help these women impact our
future. We are focused on making the country more secure, on creating
jobs, on replacing ObamaCare with a patient-centered alternative, on
extending opportunity to all children, and on protecting the freedom at
the heart of our prosperity.
Women don't need government getting in their way. That is why the
efforts of Congress to reassert its authority and roll back executive
overreach are so vital.
Congress has the responsibility to create an environment where women
thrive. In 100 years, I hope we are celebrating the women who made this
country great, not lamenting the government that stopped them.
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank the gentleman for being here today and
acknowledging the importance of Women's History Month and the
involvement of women in politics and government and for his leadership
in his home State of Colorado.
Next I would like to yield to a longstanding colleague who is well
known
[[Page H1405]]
to the House of Representatives. Virginia Foxx has done more on
workforce development issues in the last couple of years than have been
done in many, many years in the House of Representatives.
She is the first in her family to graduate from college, earn a
master's and doctorate degree, and then went on to be the president of
an institute of higher learning, a community college.
Her presidency there also lifted education in her home State. She is
the chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and
Workforce Training.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina's Fifth
District (Ms. Foxx).
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lummis for her
leadership in this Special Order this afternoon and for all the great
work that she has done.
She is a wonderful role model for women. She has lent her expertise
as the former treasurer of her State, and has brought much, much talent
to the House of Representatives. I appreciate all that she has done
since she has been here.
We all know, I think, that March is Women's History Month, which
honors and celebrates the struggles and achievements of American women
throughout the history of the United States.
Since 1917, when Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the
first woman to serve in Congress, 313 women have served as U.S.
Representatives, Senators, or Delegates.
Many Americans might assume that their congressional Representatives
come from exclusive and rarified backgrounds. Well, my story could
hardly be less rarified.
As a child, my family's home didn't have electricity or running
water. My parents, while dedicated and hardworking, were very poor,
with little formal education. Girls with my background weren't likely
to end up in Congress.
Fortunately, I was pushed by the right people, teachers and
administrators who wouldn't let me settle for less than my best.
In the mountains of North Carolina, I learned firsthand the power of
education and its vital role in the success of every American. Although
it took me 7 years while working full-time, I became the first in my
family to go to college and earn a degree.
In the 1970s, I was a member of the League of Women Voters. Through
the League, I attended school board meetings in my county as a public
observer to encourage accountability of elected officials. I went to
countless meetings, many times as the only person representing the
general public.
During one meeting of an all-male school board, a local reporter
leaned over and said: These guys are incompetent. Why don't you run for
the school board?
My instinctive response was: I am not qualified.
I think many women fall prey to this attitude of self-
disqualification and underestimate their abilities. I took another look
at those board members and changed my mind.
Eventually, I ran for the school board. While I lost that first race,
I won the next election for school board, and I haven't lost an
election since.
So while I may not have had wealthy parents or an Ivy League
education, I did have what every single American has: opportunity.
A few weeks ago I spoke to a local Girl Scout troop about Congress
and its role in our government. As the group was leaving my office, one
of the parents pulled me aside and said how glad she was that the girls
had the opportunity to hear from a woman in my position.
Women are a stronger presence than ever before on Capitol Hill. We
have rich and varied perspectives and a commitment to good ideas and
teamwork. The women of the 114th Congress are shaping our Nation, and
it is an opportunity and responsibility that we take seriously.
Although I am now serving in my sixth term as a Representative from
North Carolina, I am still really a teacher at heart, having spent the
lion's share of my life working as an educator and administrator in
North Carolina colleges and universities.
I believe confronting the challenges facing American schools and
workplaces is critical to providing opportunity for every individual to
get ahead.
That is why, as chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Higher
Education and Workforce Training, I have led efforts to modernize and
reform the Nation's workforce development system. I appreciate very
much my colleague mentioning that.
In 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act was signed into
law. This bipartisan, bicameral compromise between the SKILLS Act that
I authored and the Senate's Workforce Investment Act of 2013
streamlines and improves existing Federal workforce development
programs and fosters a modern workforce that American businesses can
rely on to compete.
House Republicans have also fought to limit one-size-fits-all Federal
dictates that hamper innovation and limit the ability of States and
local schools to address their students' needs.
Last fall we passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which reverses
Washington's micromanagement of classrooms and gives parents, teachers,
and local education leaders the tools they need to repair a broken
system and help all children reach their potential.
Unfortunately, many Americans still struggle to realize the dream of
higher education because our current system is often expensive,
inflexible, and outdated. Too many students are unable to complete
college, saddled with loan debt and ill-equipped to compete in our
modern economy.
The United States is the world's summit of opportunity, and we have a
responsibility to act now to preserve that role. House Republicans are
pursuing reforms that will help all individuals, regardless of age,
location, or background, access and complete higher education, if they
choose.
We are working to empower students and families to make informed
decisions. We want to simplify and improve student aid as well as
promote innovation access and completion. We are committed to ensuring
strong accountability and a limited Federal role.
By keeping college within reach for students and preserving the
excellence in diversity that has always set America's colleges and
universities apart, our country and our economy stand to benefit.
While Women's History Month celebrates the incredible accomplishments
of women throughout America's history, the most lasting tribute we can
pay is our efforts to improve this Nation for the next generation of
women.
Rather than simply being discouraged by the many problems facing our
country and our world, I have learned to be an agent of change focused
on the problems that can be solved and the people who can be helped.
I thank my friend who encouraged me back in the 1970s to run for the
school board because of the opportunities it has provided me to help
other people throughout my life.
Mrs. LUMMIS. We are tackling five big priorities that women care
about this year: national security, jobs, health care, upward mobility,
and balance of power.
You just heard from Congresswoman Foxx about jobs, about education,
and upward mobility that comes through those avenues.
The other areas we are talking about include national security and
health care. No one in Congress is better prepared to address those
issues than our next speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the first woman to represent the Second
District of North Carolina, which includes all of Fort Bragg, home of
the airborne and Special Operations Forces.
She has served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee since 2012
and currently serves as chairman of the Republican Women's Policy
Committee.
Prior to running for office, she worked as a registered nurse for
over 21 years and owned a general surgery practice with her husband
Brent in Dunn, North Carolina.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the gentlewoman from North
Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers), someone with real life experience in the areas
of health care and who represents a district that is so profoundly
influential in this Nation's national security.
[[Page H1406]]
{time} 1400
Mrs. ELLMERS of North Carolina. I thank my friend and colleague from
Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis). I just want to say how much I appreciate her
leadership, especially today, as we are talking about Women's History
Month and the different roles that we, as women in Congress, are
playing, and how we want to formulate and build the structure into the
future for all women. I thank her for her service to all of us in
representing Wyoming.
Mr. Speaker, this month is Women's History Month. It is an
opportunity to highlight the various ways women in America are pushing
the envelope to leave a positive and lasting imprint on society.
As the first woman to represent North Carolina's Second District, and
the first woman in our State to represent Fort Bragg, national security
remains one of my utmost priorities.
So when I learned of a proposal to deactivate the 440th Airlift Wing
located at Pope Army Airfield in Fort Bragg, I rallied my North
Carolina colleagues. For nearly 2 years, we went toe-to-toe with the
Air Force on this misguided decision.
The 440th is known for its ability to rapidly mobilize and execute
last-minute exercises. It is unique in its mission and provides
unparalleled levels of training to paratroopers of the 18th Airborne
Corps.
Deactivation of the Airlift Wing would undoubtedly affect our
military readiness and it could jeopardize the safety of our
paratroopers. Given the global uncertainty abroad right now, this
decision just doesn't make sense.
To fight this ill-conceived decision, I coordinated with my North
Carolina colleagues to question top military leaders here at the
Capitol. During these same meetings, we sought answers to tough
questions and asked for data to back up their justification for the
Wing's closure.
As a woman representing the military base, I have remained unwavering
in my work to acquire answers. I have asked for meetings with the Air
Force Reserve, the Army, the Pentagon, members of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, and local Fort Bragg commanders.
The threat of terrorism abroad and the growth of radical groups like
ISIS makes the decision to deactivate even more baffling. Constituents
back home in North Carolina feel the same way, so I have charged
forward in my efforts to prevent its closure.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to reiterate that
the Republican women in Congress are making history in a variety of
ways. As women, we are working to create new opportunities, restore a
confident America, and ensure the safety and security of every family
living in our country.
Again I thank my good friend, Congresswoman Lummis, for hosting
today's Special Order, for being the person that she is, representing
Wyoming, being a leader amongst all of us, as women in Congress, and
allowing us to speak about the individual initiatives that we are
tackling as women.
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank the gentlewoman and acknowledge her expertise on
health care, and want to raise an issue that I would love to hear her
comments on.
One of the bills that I am cosponsoring is a bill called the Research
for All Act, and it would acknowledge that most medical research
focuses on men, and studying women is suggested, but not required.
Now, sometimes different drugs have different effects on women than
they do on men, and vice versa. For example, there is a diabetes drug
study that shows that their drug may lower women's risk of heart
failure, but increase a man's; and unless we have adequate studies done
on both men and women, we won't recognize those differences or nuances
in treatment options that should be tailored differently to men and
women.
Based on your experience in nursing, your lifelong career there, do
you have any comments about other healthcare initiatives that women are
working on here in Congress?
Mrs. ELLMERS of North Carolina. First of all, I thank the gentlewoman
for her piece of legislation on that particular issue because it shows
the importance and how incredibly accurate you are when you are saying
that there are so many differences in treatments geared towards women
and geared towards men.
When you highlight heart conditions, that is the number one killer of
women in this country, when we look at disease. Heart disease is the
number one. When we look at this, we know that women respond
differently to symptoms of heart disease than men do, and so do the
drugs. So that is a perfect example of why we have to be focusing from
a perspective where we consider both genders.
There are so many things that are being worked on here in Washington
by the women leaders that we have. For instance, some of the things
that we have been able to pass on a large bipartisan scale have to do
with breast cancer.
The USPSTF came out with a decision saying that women between the
ages 40-49 don't necessarily have to have mammograms, and so,
therefore, their insurance companies shouldn't have to pay for it.
I worked across the aisle on legislation to stop that from moving
forward, and we were able to put a 2-year moratorium on that decision
so that we can actually bring a consensus together.
The last thing we want to do for women in this country is send out
more mixed messages on breast cancer and the treatment of and the
prevention of. So we are working with our colleagues, as Republicans
and Democrats.
Another perfect example of a healthcare decision that is being made
by the USPSTF right now is essentially interrupting the process for men
to get a PSA test, which is the only way we can diagnose prostate
cancer. It is a simple blood test, and right now they are making
decisions as to whether or not insurance companies should have to pay
for that. I think that is devastating.
And then, of course, I will just say, Medicare remains one of the
major issues that we are working on. I will tell you that all of the
women in the Republican conference are dedicated to this effort.
There are some new rule changes that are coming out from CMS now that
we are all targeting, and we have got to do that for every senior in
this country who is receiving Medicare. They need the health care that
they deserve, and we have got to do everything we can to make sure that
it is accessible to them.
But, obviously, the largest--the elephant in the room, if you will,
is, of course, the Affordable Care Act, and we continue to be dedicated
to this issue.
In North Carolina, I can tell you it is a mess with the insurance
plans. The individual plans themselves have skyrocketed from 30 to 40
to 50 percent increase in premiums, with an equal increase on the
deductible.
The out-of-pocket costs that families in North Carolina now are
spending is outrageous. They are literally making decisions to not go
to the doctor when they need health care because they don't want to
have to pay extra.
This is unacceptable. It certainly was not the intention of the
Affordable Care Act.
As you know, my dear colleague, we have had many of the solutions to
this problem, and I believe that the women in our conference are going
to lead and be a strong voice to our leadership for us to move forward
so that we can show the American people that we have alternatives to
the Affordable Care Act that will continue to give them good coverage,
but also continue to support good health care.
The 21st Century Cures Act we passed in 2015 is another perfect
example of all of us coming together to ensure the American people get
the coverage, the cures.
What better way to save dollars in health care than to come up with
cures?
If we could just find one on Alzheimer's alone, we would save
incredible amounts of money.
Listen, I am just proud and honored to be able to have a voice,
especially when it comes to health care because, as we know, health
care touches every life, and we have to do everything as Members of
Congress, as mothers, as sisters, to do everything we can for the
American people.
Mrs. LUMMIS. Alzheimer's, which you mentioned, is a disease where
two-thirds of the patients are women, which also means that men are 50
percent less likely to get it. So the importance of having women making
policy
[[Page H1407]]
on these issues is very high because we are the ones who are dealing
with frequently female relatives, be they mothers, sisters, aunts, who
are suffering from Alzheimer's.
When we have people like Congresswoman Ellmers, who has a nursing
background, a medical professional background, we have the opportunity
to use that expertise that she has gained in her prior career, in her
capacity as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where much
of the healthcare-related legislation originates in this Congress.
In addition, our new Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, has put
together several idea-gathering groups to make sure that we are
building an agenda for the next Congress that will address these issues
that have festered during the last 8 years; among them, the
unacceptable consequences of ObamaCare that have created the situations
which you described in your home State.
Can you give us a sneak preview about what some of these idea
meetings are bringing to light about the direction of healthcare
policy, as crafted by the Republican Party, about your role in those
idea sessions, and how we intend to roll out health care that truly is
affordable?
Mrs. ELLMERS of North Carolina. Well, I will just say that I have had
the honor of being part of the Republican Study Committee group that
has worked on alternatives to the Affordable Care Act, and we have come
up with about 10 or 12 different issue-based sections that are good
policy that really have been there for a while, that many of our
members have had; and we have actually culminated it into a plan of
action that would take care of the issue and cover those things that
the Affordable Care Act is leaving the American people behind.
One of the issues is choice, being able to choose a plan for your
family that you feel is appropriate. Unfortunately, the Affordable Care
Act, it was promoted as something that provided incredible choice. You
were going to be able to go to your doctor. You were going to be able
to go to the hospital you wanted. It was going to bring down the cost.
And none of those things have come to be true. So now we have to go in
and we have to change that.
You should be able to buy insurance across State lines or from a
different perspective rather than what you have within your own State.
You should be able to have a healthcare savings plan where you can put
dollars away and be responsible for yourself.
Young people are in a different situation. They shouldn't have to
spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month on a healthcare plan
that they cannot afford when they can have a much more economical issue
there, another situation that they can deal with.
Another big issue is tort reform at the national level. I think this
is something that will also save dollars. There are many, many ideas
from the business side of it, with small businesses to larger
businesses having better choices, being able to negotiate healthcare
plans.
So when we are talking about health care and we are talking about the
affordable care, what we really are talking about is healthcare
coverage. And I think that is one of the most important parts of this
discussion that many times, I think, gets confused.
We are talking about healthcare coverage, which leads to better
health care. We should be doing everything we can to make sure that it
is accessible to every American, and to take care of those who cannot
take care of themselves.
Pre-existing conditions is a huge issue. We have to be able to deal
with that. We know that we cannot leave the American people hanging. In
other words, when we talk about wanting to repeal it, we know that
there has to be a process in place to make sure that there is a safety
net for all of those families who have been forced off of their
insurance plans and on to an affordable care plan that was not their
choice, only they were forced to do it because it became law.
Now we have to make sure that we are providing an option for them,
one that will move them from one place to another, a much better place.
I will just say again that we are dedicated to this issue. It is the
main reason I ran for Congress to begin with. I will not let up on this
until we actually have the solutions that we are looking for.
{time} 1415
I am looking forward to our working together over this next year on
this issue and just moving health care forward in so many different
ways. Unfortunately, the Federal Government does have a lot to do with
what is working and what is not working, and I am just very happy to be
part of that conversation.
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank our colleague for her dedication and commitment
to health care for Americans that will truly work for them.
Speaking of which, and in recognition of a wonderful woman who is an
example of the types of healthcare issues that we are addressing this
afternoon as part of our focus on Women's History Month, we have been
joined by the good gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon), who would like
to pay tribute to a woman from his great State of Arizona.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona, Congressman Matt
Salmon.
Mr. SALMON. First, before I start honoring this wonderful woman, I
would like to say that I learned early in my life, in my church, that
if you want to talk about something, you convene a meeting with a bunch
of men; if you want to solve something, you convene a meeting with
women.
Mrs. LUMMIS. My former Senator, Alan Simpson, used to say: ``The cock
croweth, but the hen delivereth the goods.''
Mr. SALMON. I thank the gentlewoman.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak very, very lovingly and admiringly
about one of the most wonderful people I have ever gotten a chance to
know in my life. Her name is Laura Knaperek.
I first met Laura when I was a State legislator. I was assigned to be
on the health committee, and Laura was a citizen activist that came
down to champion the cause of families, and specifically families with
children with developmental disabilities. I was amazed then at her
passion, and I remember telling her: You ought to run for office some
day.
She was a beloved member of the Arizona community and a tireless
champion for those with developmental disabilities and one of the
strongest advocates for families I have ever met in my life. She sought
to lift people's lives around her.
She was first elected to the State legislature in 1994. She set
herself apart as a selfless public servant. A few weeks ago, our
Speaker, in talking to the Conference, mentioned that there are two
types of people in politics: there are doers, and there are be-ers.
Laura Knaperek was a doer. She was not interested in having the title
of being a State legislator; she was interested in solving the problems
of the day.
She was diagnosed, in 2012, with ovarian cancer. I remember seeing
her shortly after that diagnosis, and there was no despair and no
concern. Without missing a beat, she just wanted to talk about how she
could uplift other people's lives.
I remember Laura decided to champion an idea in Arizona, which I
believe is an idea whose time has come. It is the right called the
Right to Try. I think it was one of the very first States in the
country that has tried to pass this by referendum. Laura was successful
in doing this.
It basically allows individuals with terminal diseases access to
things that aren't necessarily approved by the FDA yet. If it is their
last-ditch chance, they ought to have a shot at life, and that was
Laura's contention. She championed this idea, and it passed
overwhelmingly at the ballot.
I am sad to say that, 4 years after her diagnosis, she succumbed to
this dread disease.
I was shocked because Laura was on Facebook and every other social
media outlet constantly championing ideas and thoughts of others, and
she never said anything about herself. She never wallowed in self-pity.
She was the kind of person that realized that the greatest service that
we can do is serving other people.
In my church, there is a saying that, when you are in the service of
your fellow being, you are in the service of God. I think Laura
understood that better than anybody.
[[Page H1408]]
Because of Laura, I introduced H.R. 3012, the Right to Try Act,
introduced the last session of Congress. I think that Americans deserve
the same opportunity that Arizonans have to be able to try to save
their life and do whatever is necessary to save their life if they are
terminally ill and they have no other options, no hope.
I think that we can honor Laura and others like her by allowing
everybody across the United States who suffers from a terminal illness
the access to every tool available to help them fight for their
precious life. The Right to Try, to me, is, in reality, a component of
the God-given right to life. The Right to Try offers hope to those who
have nowhere else to turn.
Laura Knaperek passed away at the age of 60, leaving behind her
husband, Robert, their 6 children, 19 grandchildren, and 1 great-
grandchild.
I ask my colleagues to join with me today in honoring Laura's life
and pray that we continue Laura's fight to allow those with terminal
illnesses another chance at life.
I thank the gentlewoman.
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank the gentleman for that warm tribute to a woman
who selflessly provided an option that women and men can use in the
event that they are terminally ill where a possible drug treatment or
other type of treatment has been identified that has not yet cleared
the FDA drug analysis and has not yet been approved but may be
tremendously helpful to preserving these lives that will be otherwise
cut short so early, especially a woman of Laura's caliber, who, at 60
years of age, died, leaving such a wonderful family.
I thank the gentleman for sponsoring the legislation giving people
the same opportunities that Arizonans have.
Have you reintroduced that piece of legislation in this Congress?
Mr. SALMON. Actually, we are going to be reintroducing it, and we are
probably going to rename it Laura's Law in honor of Laura Knaperek.
There are very few times in your life that you meet somebody that you
think they got the memo mixed up in Heaven, that God sent a memo that
said that this person that is supposed to be an angel actually got to
come down to Earth. That was Laura. She was an angel, a living angel,
and somebody that gave a lot of people reason for hope through the
course of her life, and she never, ever sought recognition. All she
sought was helping others and changing other people's lives.
Do you know what? That is the standard I think we all aspire to, but
there are rare occasions where we find somebody that just embodies
everything that is good.
Mrs. LUMMIS. As we celebrate Women's History Month, we look for that
junction between women who have done historic things, women such as
Laura, and the way that they have paved the way for policies that can
be implemented that provide opportunities for people that are in a
similar condition as hers to have some hope and a chance at a longer
life.
We are grateful that Congressman Salmon has been willing to pick up
the torch of her good work and bring it to the attention of, and
hopefully the approval of, this Congress.
I thank the gentleman for his role in this Congress, for
acknowledging the importance of Laura's life for today's Special Order
on Women's History Month, and for carrying on her fine work in his
capacity as a fine gentleman who is doing the best to represent his
State, and in doing so, enhances the opportunity for every American in
this Nation. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. SALMON. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Mrs. LUMMIS. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. SALMON. I do want to say one other thing.
I know that the gentlewoman is going to be retiring after the end of
this term, and I just want to say what a true honor it has been to
serve with a statesman such as yourself. You are truly one of the
bright spots in this place.
There have been a lot of times when I feel like I kind of had to kick
myself extra hard to get motivated to come back and get on that plane
and come to Washington, D.C., and leave my family behind; but there are
people that give me hope, and you are one of those people. You will be
sorely missed. It doesn't matter whether you are a woman or not a
woman. You happen to be. You are a fine, fine individual, and I am
proud to know you.
Mrs. LUMMIS. I thank the gentleman. It is an honor to serve with you.
I know you are completing your second tour of duty in this Congress
as well and will be returning to a lovely family in Arizona. Those of
us who are from the West are blessed to live in beautiful places with
people that create a society that matches the scenery, and you are an
important part of that society.
Clearly, Laura was an important part of that society. She enhanced
your life; and you, in turn, enhance ours.
I thank the gentleman from Arizona for his service.
Here, in Women's History Month, I can't help but toot the horn of my
great State of Wyoming, the first government in the world to grant
women the right to vote. We also had the first woman Governor, the
first woman justice of the peace, the first woman grand juror, the
first women who were elected delegates to the Republican and Democratic
National Conventions, and the first woman elected official in the
country, who happened to be the State superintendent of public
instruction, Estelle Reel.
All of these women were trailblazers. This all happened 50 years
before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted all American
women the right to vote.
Wyoming territory, in 1869, became the first government in the world
to continuously grant women the right to vote, and it has been my
privilege as a woman from the great State of Wyoming to follow a woman
colleague, Congresswoman Barbara Cubin, who served 14 years in this
body. I now, in my eighth term, make a combined total of 22 consecutive
years where our beloved State of Wyoming has been represented in this
House of Representatives by women. And that is really saying something,
since Wyoming only has one Member of Congress. It is, indeed, a great
honor.
These women, however, we cannot just celebrate their past, our past,
and the opportunities that we enjoy in this great Nation. We have to
use what we have learned as American women to enhance the lives of our
fellow Americans as we serve here, which is one of the reasons that we
are both celebrating Women's History Month and discussing specifically,
today, what the Republican Party is doing.
Women's History Month is our opportunity to celebrate the incredible
accomplishments women have made to America. But the most lasting
tribute we can pay this month is our effort to make history for the
next generation of women. That is why House Republicans are building an
agenda to restore a confident America where every American feels secure
in their lives and their futures.
The five big priorities that women care about that we are working on
together this year include: national security, which was discussed by
Renee Ellmers; jobs, which was discussed, of course, by Virginia Foxx;
health care, where we have several nurses and medical practitioners
that are women that are deeply involved in this legislative project;
and upward mobility, something that is important to all Americans, but
especially women.
When you consider how many women heads of household there are; when
you consider that a rising tide lifts all boats, and when women earn
more money, families do better, children do better, women do better,
and men do better, it is very important, when we are talking about
upward mobility, that opportunities are provided for women by having a
Tax Code that does not burden them and by having jobs that come back to
this country that have previously left this country.
We can do that by changing our Tax Code in a way that allows us to
bring jobs back to this country so those employers and their employees
are not penalized by higher taxes that we have through a Tax Code that
makes sure that corporations pay more taxes here than they do in other
countries. That is why we have what are called inversions. That is why
people are leaving this country to take their jobs to other countries.
We need to bring them back, providing more opportunities to have
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great jobs here in this country for women, heads of household, and for
all members of our society and culture.
With women making the majority of healthcare decisions in this
country, we need to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with an
act that will provide opportunities for a marketplace for insurance
that acknowledges that some people have preexisting conditions and you
will not be penalized for such, that acknowledges that some people just
want catastrophic coverage and later in their life can move into a
system that maybe provides more specific coverage, and that allows you
to shop for insurance across State lines. You can find a product that
works specifically for you and that has a pool of participants large
enough so that a very small population State like mine can be involved
in a bigger pool, thereby bringing down the risk and bringing down the
costs for those of us in very small States.
{time} 1430
We have to be looking also at specific healthcare issues. Multiple
sclerosis is much more prevalent in the Intermountain West than it is
in a lot of other areas.
Research being done right now at Cornell University is showing that
there is a possible connection between multiple sclerosis and a fungus
in the soils.
These are the kinds of unusual connections when research is done that
will allow us to address certain healthcare issues that may be more
prevalent in one region than another, a healthcare system that is
flexible and affordable and recognizes that not all healthcare issues
are the same for men or women, for the Intermountain West versus the
coastal States, for the African American population, for the Hispanic
American population, for the White population.
These are all things that need to be discussed in the context of an
affordable healthcare system that recognizes the tremendous scientific
advantages that we enjoy by virtue of having a first-class higher
education system.
We have to make sure that that higher education system continues to
advance opportunities for all people that can contribute to the body of
knowledge that have made America the greatest country in the world.
Women currently making up the largest component of the higher
education population will be leading the way among them.
Mr. Speaker, before I wrap up this Special Order that has
acknowledged women's history in this country and acknowledges the work
that is being done here in Congress to make sure the future for
American women is brighter, better, more prosperous, and more
fulfilling than ever, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King), a
champion of healthcare revision that will benefit both men and women.
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming
for yielding to me on this important topic. I am privileged to be here
on the floor listening to this discussion that we have today.
I think of the many, many hours that roll back as far back as 2009,
when the healthcare debate began to get intensified here in this
Congress. From the beginning, for me, it was about freedom.
I often say to people that the most sovereign thing that we have is
our soul. We are in charge of that. We are in control of that. With
God's help, we are in the management of our own soul. The Federal
Government hasn't figured out how to tax it, how to nationalize it, or
how to manage it.
That may be a point of profundity, but what is the second most
sovereign thing that we have, aside from our soul? Number two is our
skin and everything inside it, our bodies.
The Federal Government has figured out under ObamaCare how to
nationalize that, how to do--I call it a hostile takeover of our skin
and everything inside it--and tell us: We are going to tax your
paycheck and we are going to command you to take that money and pay a
health insurance premium, not the policy of your choice, but the policy
of Uncle Sam's choice.
Then that policy, the rules written within it and the thousands of
pages of rules that have been written on ObamaCare since, will
determine whether you get health care or at least whether you get it
paid for out of your health insurance policy or not. That I call a
hostile takeover of my skin and everything inside it.
It is abhorrent to me for a free people to be subjugated to such a
law. Yet, the other side of this is that we have had elections in 2010,
2012, 2014, and now an election coming up in 2016.
The results of this upcoming election might be the one where we
finally set the full 100 percent ``rip it out by the roots as if it had
never been enacted'' ObamaCare.
``Repeal it completely and entirely as if it had never been enacted''
actually are the last words of the repeal bill that I wrote in the
middle of the night after it passed here on March 22, 2010, a sleepless
night, I might add.
The question was: What is the other side of the glorious repeal of
ObamaCare? A number of really good things that we would have done by
now if it weren't obstructed by the policy that exists in front of us
that is named after our President.
The first and I think most important one is to provide for selling
insurance across State lines. There is legislation there that has
existed for years called the McCarran-Ferguson Act.
It is legislation that enables the States to write the mandates and
the specifications in such a way that the States can be lobbied by
large health insurance companies whose goal is to have a monopoly
within each of those States.
That is trade protectionism that is allowed. It is in violation of
the Commerce Clause in the Constitution, I might add. But the McCarran-
Ferguson Act enables that.
We need to repeal the components of the McCarran-Ferguson Act so that
a young man, while at the beginning of this dialogue in 2009 or 2010--a
23-year-old young man would be paying about $6,000 a year for a typical
health insurance policy in New Jersey, but a young man, same age,
similarly situated in Kentucky, would be paying about $1,000 a year.
This would let the young man from New Jersey buy the policy from
Kentucky, which, eventually, the competition would bring the price down
in New Jersey, probably wouldn't bring it up in Kentucky, and we would
see that the opportunities we would have as Americans we could trade
for health insurance in any State.
Free trade zones on health insurance, what a wonderful thing. Then
the Federal mandates would be gone. They would be away.
That would mean that especially young people that could wisely manage
their investments would be able to buy a health savings account. The
way they were set up in 2003, a couple at age 20 could have invested
$5,150 a year. That was the max-out in an HSA.
If they spent about $2,000 a year for normal medical costs and
accrued the balance of that at the 40-year average of interest rate,
they would arrive at 65 Medicare eligibility with approximately
$950,000 in their health savings account.
Uncle Sam's interest in that HSA at that point, that nearly $1
million, would be to tax it as real income when it comes out of the
HSA.
Well, I would say instead, if you could buy a Medicare replacement
policy in the dollars, when we did the math on this, for the couple for
$144,000, the government would tax the balance. I would say keep the
change tax free.
If you take yourself off of the Medicare rolls, the entitlement
rolls, by buying a replacement annuitized, paid-up-for-life policy to
replace the Medicare liability, keep the change tax free, say,
$150,000, around $800,000 tax free, that becomes your retirement
account.
The HSA has become now a life management account where you would be
planning your health insurance. The more money you had in your HSA, the
more deductible you could sustain, the higher deductible and the higher
co-payment.
With that nest egg of an HSA, you could negotiate the health
insurance premiums down. You would manage your way, get your exercise,
get your check-ups, because you would want to be able to live long and
healthy to spend all of that mad money, if you choose, that balance of
$800,000.
That is the kind of thing that is in front of us if we can get
ObamaCare out of the way. Sell insurance across State lines, expand
HSAs, address the
[[Page H1410]]
tort reform piece of this, which is billions of dollars a year that is
unnecessarily spent on tests that are done to protect from the
liability that is there.
With these packages, other good ideas that come from other Members
doing this in the fashion and vision by our Founding Fathers, we go out
to where all of the solutions are, out to the voices and ideas of the
people, bring those ideas here.
Each of us, our job, the gentlewoman from Wyoming's job and mine, is
to sort through the good ideas, bring the best ideas here to
Washington, let our best ideas compete with the other good ideas, and
put that out on the President's desk for the solutions that we really
need.
I appreciate the attention and the opportunity to speak.
Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa for his
leadership on this issue, for being a devoted husband, father, and
father-in-law.
I know that the women in his life have influenced his perspective on
these healthcare issues, as have so many of us. I thank him for
participating in this discussion, this Special Order, celebrating
Women's History Month.
I want to conclude the Special Order by highlighting two Republican
women with whom I serve in Congress who are truly doing courageous
things in their lives with their families.
First of all, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is the
highest ranking Republican woman in this conference, is our conference
leader. She is the mother of three children.
One is a special needs child, a friend to all of us, a delightful
young man who was born while she was serving in Congress, as were her
other two children.
The devotion that Cathy McMorris Rodgers has to her family and to
parents of special needs children has brought about important
legislation that is good for parents and special needs children all
over this country.
As we celebrate this Women's History Month, I want to acknowledge our
colleague Cathy McMorris Rodgers for her important role in this
Congress as a leader on this issue and many others.
I also want to acknowledge our colleague Jaime Herrera Beutler, who
is from the State of Washington. Jaime, during a pregnancy which
occurred while she also was serving as a Member of this Congress, as
she still does, experienced a pregnancy that would have brought about
the death of her child.
But because she was courageous enough to test and, like Laura's Law,
allow a rather experimental treatment where she was injected with a
saline solution in utero that allowed that baby to continue to mature
until its birth, at which point it was allowed to grow and had
dialysis, and then, at a point at which that child had become big
enough and healthy enough, received an organ transplant from Jaime
Herrera Beutler's husband, the father of the child.
That child and that father and that mother, who we continue to serve
with here in this Congress, are all doing well. This is the first known
child to survive, given the condition that that child was identified as
having before it was born.
Most doctors recommend that a parent terminate that pregnancy or, in
many cases, that pregnancy will be terminated on its own without any
involvement outside of the womb.
But in Jaime's case, she took the extraordinary step of having a
saline injection to allow that child to continue to grow and mature in
a way that allowed it to be born.
This is a lovely child, another friend of all of ours, because,
occasionally, that child visits us here in the Cloakroom behind this
floor of the House.
What an honor to serve with these two courageous mothers who, while
having these children and going through these extraordinary issues, are
serving their States, their districts, their Nations in this Congress,
and contributing to uplifting women in this country through their
service to this Congress.
As I conclude this tribute to Women's History Month, I want to remind
people that women in this Congress are making a difference with regard
to legislation that affects all of us, whether they are in the avenues
of natural resources, water, air--the areas that I spend most of my
time on--whether they are in the areas of health care, jobs, or higher
education.
The areas that women in Congress are interested in are as diverse as
the areas that men are interested in, but women bring a different
perspective to those same issues. Women look out into the future.
When I served in the Wyoming Legislature, our chief clerk, who sits
up there just as these folks do and observes what is happening, was one
day asked: Can you tell a difference between the way men and women
legislate, regardless of whether they are Democrats or Republicans?
He said: Absolutely. Women are looking to the future. They are not
focused on the next election. They are focused beyond the next election
for what will be good for their children, their grandchildren, and
future of the Nation.
{time} 1445
As I observed his comments throughout my legislative years in Wyoming
and now throughout my legislative years here, I think there is some
truth to that. That is why I think it is so important that women be
involved in the legislative process and participate in this great
institution, which is the Congress of the United States, for the
betterment of future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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