[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 41 (Thursday, March 9, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E305-E306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING NACDS RxIMPACT DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2017

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Ninth 
Annual NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill. This is a special day where 
we will have the chance to recognize pharmacy's many contributions to 
the American healthcare system.
  Organized by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), 
this event will take place next week, on March 14-15, 2017. More than 
400 individuals from the pharmacy community, including practicing 
pharmacists, pharmacy school faculty and students, state pharmacy 
association representatives and pharmacy company leaders, will visit us 
here on Capitol Hill. Advocates from 47 states will share their views 
with us about the importance of supporting their access agenda, 
legislative

[[Page E306]]

priorities that will ensure that our constituents will continue to have 
access to more than 40,000 community and neighborhood pharmacies across 
the country and be better able to utilize pharmacists to improve 
healthcare quality while reducing the cost of care.
  Patients have always relied on their local pharmacist to meet their 
healthcare needs and we as policymakers know our local pharmacists to 
be important community leaders. They are trusted, highly accessible 
healthcare providers deeply committed to providing high quality, 
convenient, and efficient healthcare services. A recent national survey 
showed that 65 percent of the public view pharmacists as individuals 
who provide credible advice to reduce health costs and in 2016, 
pharmacists again ranked second in Gallup's Honesty and Ethics survey.
  As demand for healthcare services continues to grow, pharmacists have 
expanded their role in healthcare delivery, partnering with physicians, 
nurses and other healthcare providers to meet their patients' needs. 
Innovative services provided by pharmacists do even more to improve 
overall patient health and wellness.
  Pharmacists are highly valued by those that rely on them most, those 
in rural and underserved areas, as well as older Americans, and those 
struggling to manage chronic diseases. Pharmacy services improve 
patients' quality of life as well as healthcare affordability. By 
helping patients take their medications effectively and providing 
preventive services, pharmacists help avoid more costly forms of care. 
Pharmacists also help patients identify strategies to save money, such 
as through better understanding of their pharmacy benefits, using 
generic medications, and obtaining 90-day supplies of prescription 
drugs from local pharmacies. Pharmacists are the nation's most 
accessible healthcare providers. In many communities, especially in 
rural areas, the local pharmacist is a patient's most direct link to 
healthcare. In fact, 91 percent of Americans reside within five miles 
of a community pharmacy. Utilizing their specialized education, 
pharmacists play a major role in medication therapy management, 
disease-state management, immunizations, healthcare screenings, and 
other healthcare services designed to improve patient health and reduce 
overall healthcare costs. Pharmacists are also expanding their role 
into new models of care based on quality of services and outcomes, such 
as accountable care organizations (AC0s) and medical homes.
  The pharmacy advocates of NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill will be 
promoting an access agenda. They know that we face difficult debates 
about the future of healthcare and the pharmacy community wishes to 
work with us to help in the effort to develop comprehensive and 
consistent approaches to public policy that put pharmacy's value to 
work for patients and payers. They understand well that the issues we 
are debating today are highly connected and vital to pharmacy, to all 
of healthcare, and to society as a whole.
  Specifically, advocates will be working to ensure that any changes to 
the Affordable Care Act do not jeopardize patient access to their local 
community retail pharmacy. They will also be seeking our support for 
H.R. 592, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, 
a bill I strongly support to allow Medicare Part B to utilize 
pharmacists to their full capability by providing underserved 
beneficiaries with services, subject to state scope of practice laws. 
Already in the 115th Congress, H.R. 592 has 134 cosponsors and the 
companion bill in the Senate, S. 109, has 32 cosponsors. Finally, they 
will be talking with us about ways to improve neighborhood pharmacy 
access for TRICARE beneficiaries and about bringing much-needed 
transparency and consistency to so-called DIR fees, the complicated fee 
structure imposed on pharmacies to participate in the Medicare Part D 
program.
  I believe Congress should look at every opportunity to make sure that 
pharmacists are allowed to utilize their training to the fullest to 
provide the services that can improve care, increase access and lower 
costs. In recognition of the Ninth Annual NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol 
Hill, I would like to congratulate pharmacy leaders, pharmacists, 
students, and the entire pharmacy community represented by NACDS, for 
their contributions to the health and wellness of the American people.

    HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF REPRESENTATIVE ENI FALEOMAVAEGA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2017

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service 
of Representative Eni Faleomavaega. He passed away on February 22, 2017 
in his home at age 73. Representative Faleomavaega was American Samoa's 
lieutenant governor from 1985 through 1989, and congressional delegate 
from 1989 through 2014.
  Mr. Faleomavaega was born in Vailoatai Village, American Samoa in 
1943, and graduated from Brigham Young University. He later earned his 
Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees at the University of Houston Law 
Center and the UC-Berkeley, respectively. He served in the United 
States Army from 1966 through 1969, and fought in the Vietnam War.
  In 1973, Mr. Faleomavaega started his life in public service by 
working as an administrative assistant to American Samoa's first 
representative, A.U. Fuimaono. Following a six-year stint as staff 
counsel for the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs 
beginning in 1975, he became attorney general of American Samoa in 
1981.
  During his time in the House of Representatives, he helped improve 
the lives of his constituents, directing essential funding to help the 
development of schools, infrastructure, and health care in American 
Samoa. Mr. Faleomavaega was a founding member of the Asian Pacific 
American Caucus in 1994, and was a tireless advocate on behalf of the 
wider Asian American and Pacific Islander Community. He served thirteen 
terms, and was a proud member of both the House Natural Resources 
Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he was a 
ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asia.
  He is survived by his wife, five children and 10 grandchildren. Upon 
his passing, Mr. Faleomavaega's wife expressed gratitude for the trust 
placed in him for so many years by the people of American Samoa. I am 
honored to recognize Representative Eni Faleomavaega for his work as a 
public servant. We are all better off due to his life of service. He is 
dearly missed by his friends and colleagues.

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