[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Mr. President, on another issue, I want to mention that there is a 
crisis in primary healthcare, and unless Congress acts immediately, 
that crisis is likely to become much worse. Millions of Americans are 
at risk of losing their access to healthcare because Congress has still 
not renewed funding for the community health center program, which 
expired on September 30.
  Our Nation's community health centers provide affordable, high-
quality healthcare to more than 27 million people. What community 
health centers do is not only provide high-quality primary healthcare 
but also dental care, mental health counseling, and low-cost 
prescription drugs. Community health centers not only save lives, they 
also end up saving money. What they do is keep people out of emergency 
rooms and keep people out of hospitals because people can now go to the 
doctor when they should. The savings are also, really, quite 
significant. Investing in community health centers keeps people 
healthier, keeps people alive, and saves taxpayers' money.
  Not only do we have to renew funding for the Community Health Center 
Program, but we must also improve and expand the National Health 
Service Corps, one of the, really, very positive health programs that 
the Federal Government runs. What this program understands is that for 
a variety of reasons, including the fact that many young people leave 
medical school being $300,000, $400,000 in debt, it is very hard to get 
young doctors, dentists, nurses, and nurse practitioners to underserved 
areas in rural America or in urban America. What this program does is 
provide debt forgiveness and sometimes scholarships for young graduates 
of medical school or nursing school or dental school and says: If you 
are prepared to practice in an underserved area, we will forgive your 
loans. That is a big deal in attracting providers to areas in which we 
desperately need them.
  The bad news is that, as every American knows, this Congress and this 
country are very politically divided. That is no great secret. The good 
news and the truth is that in terms of community health centers--
Senator Ted Kennedy was one of the founders, who worked with 
Republicans--from the inception of the program, there has been a 
widespread understanding on both sides of the aisle that communities 
all over America in every State in our country are benefiting from 
community health centers whether they are in rural areas or whether 
they are in urban areas or anyplace else in between.
  What I am very happy to note is that there is excellent legislation--
bipartisan legislation--here in the Senate, introduced by Senator Roy 
Blunt and Senator Debbie Stabenow, that would reauthorize these 
successful programs for 5 years and provide modest increases in their 
funding. This program not only has the support of virtually, perhaps, 
every Democrat or every Member of the Democratic Caucus, but I think it 
has at least 9 or 10 Republican cosponsors. I believe, if that bill 
were to be brought to the floor of the Senate, it would pass with 
overwhelming support because every Senator here knows of the excellent 
work that is done by community health centers from one end of this 
country to the other.
  I hope that this issue will get the attention it deserves. It should 
have been funded at the end of the fiscal year. It wasn't. I just 
talked to a physician in Burlington, VT, who works for a community 
health center. They are worried, and doctors and nurses all across this 
country are worried, as are patients, about the lack of reauthorization 
of this very important bill.
  I hope that this bill will get moved very quickly along with the CHIP 
program. There is bipartisan support for it, and I hope that we can get 
it to the floor and get it passed as quickly as possible.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.