[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.