[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 160 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6341-S6342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, in many ways, the Children's Health 
Insurance Program has been an outstanding example of what a bipartisan, 
democratic process can accomplish. Twenty years ago, President Bill 
Clinton worked with a Republican majority in both the Senate and the 
House of Representatives to successfully pass the Children's Health 
Insurance Program into law. That legislation passed with 85 votes in 
the Senate--an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote--to recognize the simple 
fact that all children born in this great country of ours should have 
healthcare coverage.
  The Children's Health Insurance Program, along with our Nation's 
community health centers, has more often than not seen great bipartisan 
support. As Members of Congress, we have always come together and 
understood the importance of these programs, and we have done 
everything we can to ensure that quality, cost-effective care is 
available to millions of Americans. Unfortunately, as I stand here 
today, funding for both the Children's Health Insurance Program and 
community health centers has expired.
  The Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, provides healthcare 
coverage to over 100,000 children in my home State of Michigan and more 
than 9 million children nationally. In addition, community health 
centers serve as the primary medical home to over 600,000 Michiganders 
and more than 20 million individuals across our country. For people 
living in rural and underserved areas, their community health center is 
their doctor's office and often their only choice when it comes to care 
close to home.
  We have already passed the deadline to extend the Children's Health 
Insurance Program and the Community Health Center Fund. We have passed 
the time to act. We should not wait any longer to provide certainty to 
the millions of children and their families who depend on CHIP and to 
the Americans who will lose access to care if their community health 
center is closed.
  We are already seeing the impact of our inaction in the CHIP program. 
Several States have begun to warn that they may be forced to end 
enrollment of new children, cut back services, or end their programs 
altogether if we do not act soon. Independent experts estimate that at 
least 10 States could completely run out of funding for their 
Children's Health Insurance Program before the end of the year, while 
funding for the remaining States' programs would not be very far 
behind.
  This is not a responsible way to govern. I have heard from physicians 
in my State, especially in rural communities, who fear that this lack 
of action will mean great harm to the patients they serve. I have heard 
from pediatricians who know firsthand what the end of CHIP would mean 
for Michigan's children. As our country grapples with what we can do to 
expand mental health treatment and address the expanding opioid 
epidemic, letting these programs lapse would be a huge step in the 
wrong direction. This unnecessary uncertainty has already forced some 
community health centers to contemplate staff hiring freezes and 
layoffs. It is certainly harming their day-to-day operations. It has 
made it difficult for them to recruit new doctors, and it has made it 
harder for their offices to obtain loans to grow their practices and to 
serve more patients.
  Luckily, this is a problem we know how to solve. I am proud to have 
cosponsored bipartisan legislation with Senators Hatch and Wyden that 
would ensure funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program. I 
also support similarly bipartisan legislation by Senators Blunt and 
Stabenow to extend funding for our Nation's community health centers.
  I welcome the fact that the Senate Finance Committee held a markup 
yesterday and was able to advance the bipartisan bill to fund the 
Children's Health Insurance Program. Now the rest of us in Congress 
need to do our job. Let's bring both of these bills up for a vote 
because, quite frankly, we cannot afford to wait any longer. Our 
Nation's children and millions of Americans who use community health 
centers as their primary medical home cannot afford to wait any longer. 
Historically, these programs have not been controversial to 
reauthorize, and they should not be now.
  I am urging my colleagues to prioritize the children of our rural and 
underserved communities who will be hurt if we do not act soon. Let's 
do what is right for our country's children and families and pass this 
vital legislation as soon as possible.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The remarks of Ms. Heitkamp and Ms. Murkowski pertaining to the 
introduction of S. 1942 are printed in today's Record under 
``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')


  Tribute to Reverend Dr. Alonzo B. Patterson, Jr., and Mrs. Shirley 
                               Patterson

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I wish to recognize an extraordinary 
individual in my State, along with his wife. I would like to take a few 
minutes today to recognize Reverend Dr. Alonzo B. Patterson, Jr., and 
Mrs. Shirley Patterson.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S6341, October 5, 2017, near the top of the third 
column, the following language appears: Tribute to Reverend Dr. 
Alonzo B. Patterson, Jr., and Mrs. Shirley Patterson Mr. 
President, I wish . . .
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: Tribute to 
Reverend Dr. Alonzo B. Patterson, Jr., and Mrs. Shirley Patterson 
Ms. MURKOWSKI. . . . Mr. President, I wish . . .


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  During the first week of November, Anchorage is going to host 4 days 
of events to commemorate the service of two of our most beloved 
community leaders, the Reverend Dr. Alonzo B. Patterson and his wife, 
Shirley Patterson. Next month, Reverend Patterson leaves the pulpit of 
Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. This is a pulpit he has held for some 
47 years. Mrs. Patterson, his wife of six decades, is to be recognized 
for her service as well.
  Anchorage is one of America's great communities, and it is not 
uncommon to celebrate the retirement of a figure of Patterson's 
stature, but 4 separate days of events--that is huge, and it is a 
testament to the respect our community has for the Patterson family.
  Think about this: Alaska has been a State for just 58 years. Reverend 
Patterson has had his pulpit for 47 years. And Shiloh is not Reverend 
Patterson's first pulpit in Alaska; it is his second. He came to 
Anchorage after founding the Corinthian Baptist Church in Fairbanks. 
Reverend Patterson grew up with Alaska, and Alaska grew up with 
Reverend Patterson.
  Corinthian and Shiloh could appropriately be characterized as 
African-American churches. But for the African-American community in 
Alaska, they are far more than churches; they are centers of Black 
history in Alaska.
  Zakiya McCummings interviewed Reverend Patterson earlier this year 
for an article published in the Anchorage Press, and in that interview, 
Reverend Patterson explained:

       The church was, and always has been, the sanctuary in the 
     Black community. It is the meeting place, the community 
     center, the focus for support and help, the place you come to 
     be important, the psychologist for your particular problem, 
     the time to shout out your frustrations and the only place to 
     be significant. You could be a Deacon or something in the 
     church where in the rest of the community, you were just 
     another Black person. The church was for us a panacea for 
     many of the social ills that existed then and still have 
     relevance.

  Given the central role Reverend Patterson has played in Alaska's 
African-American community for most of our State's existence, it is no 
surprise that he is regarded as a historian of Black culture in Alaska. 
Ms. McCummings observed that it is a responsibility that he doesn't 
take lightly. Reverend Patterson told her:

       I feel like I have to be the keeper of our historical 
     plight and to speak to each generation in my time. It is a 
     powerful responsibility because if I go to sleep on my watch,

[[Page S6342]]

     then the next watch will have nothing to build on. . . . 
     We're responsible that the gate remains open for the next 
     generation.

  Under Reverend Patterson's watch, there was much progress. In the 
1960s and 1970s, Reverend Patterson recalled, ``much of Alaska was 
small family businesses, including the banks. If you were not part of 
that family or their friends, you had a hard time getting a job.
  Many of the jobs for African Americans were either construction or 
government jobs.''
  Reverend Patterson proudly recalls the first Black principal of a 
State elementary school, an African-American banker who was elected to 
the school board and subsequently to the Alaska Legislature, an 
African-American activist in the Fairview section of Anchorage who is 
regarded as the grandfather of the city's public transportation system. 
Today's African-American community is built on the foundation of these 
pioneers who endured.
  Make no mistake about this, Alonzo Patterson was no mere spectator to 
all of this progress. He was an agent of change, rooted in his 
observation, and he stated: ``In ministry there are no limits except 
the ones we set for ourselves.'' Under his leadership, Shiloh grew 
spiritually, physically, and fiscally, and would include a church 
school, a television ministry, and a jail outreach ministry.
  On Shiloh's 29th anniversary, the mortgage note for the original 
structure was burned under the theme, ``Burning to Build,'' and 
groundbreaking for a new educational wing commenced. There was more 
building to come. The Martin Luther King Jr. Family Life Center was 
dedicated on May 23, 1993. In 2001, Reverend Patterson spun off a new 
nonprofit organization, Shiloh Community Development, Inc., to serve 
youth, minorities, and the disadvantaged. Today Shiloh Community 
Development is well known for its youth mentoring program called Young 
Lions of Alaska.
  He is a founder of Bridge Builders of Alaska, which celebrates the 
diversity of our communities and a powerful voice in Alaska's annual 
celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Day. In 2015, Reverend Patterson 
was the keynote speaker at the King Day ceremonies on JBER. At that 
ceremony, he warned his audience that Dr. King's dream is at risk of 
dying. He said:

       This dream is at risk if nothing is done, and nothing is 
     holding us back but ourselves. Stop waiting for miracles; 
     believe in yourself to make society better. Each of us can do 
     our part, by loving and respecting others.

  This is just one example of his powerful voice. Reverend Patterson's 
sermons were always inspiring, many legendary, and it explains why he 
is regarded as a pastor's pastor, growing not only his congregants but 
the generations of ministers who will follow in his footsteps. As one 
who has joined in the congregation there at Shiloh on numerous 
occasions, I can attest that there was never a Sunday that I did not 
leave feeling inspired by the words of Dr. Patterson.
  They aren't calling the appreciation festivities for Reverend 
Patterson a retirement ceremony. They are calling it a transition, 
probably because nobody believes Rev. Alonzo Patterson has any 
intentions of pursuing a future of leisure. Leadership and inspiration 
runs in Alonzo Patterson's DNA.
  We wish him and Shirley well in their next calling, and we take 
comfort in the fact that their contributions to our community are far 
from over. November marks a transition, not a retirement--and certainly 
not a eulogy--for this extraordinary Alaska family.
  On behalf of my Senate colleagues, I thank Dr. Patterson and his 
lovely wife Shirley for their good works, and thank them in advance for 
their continued leadership.