[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9770-H9771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MAYOR RITA SANDERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bacon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of Nebraska's most 
dedicated and inspirational leaders. Rita Sanders has served since 
November 2010 as the mayor of Bellevue, one of the oldest cities in 
Nebraska and home to one of the largest bases in the United States Air 
Force, Offutt Air Force Base.
  She concludes her service as mayor today, and she has achieved many 
heralded results. Mayor Sanders was inducted into the Filipino Asian 
American Hall of Fame in 2017 as a testament to her tireless work and 
tremendous accomplishments as a Filipino American. In addition, the 
adjutant general for the Nebraska National Guard awarded Rita the 
Civilian Distinguished Service Medal in March of 2017.
  Mayor Sanders was born in Hawaii in 1952. Her father served in the 
United States Army and was a Bronze Medal recipient for heroism in 
Vietnam. Her mother was originally from Germany. Mayor Sanders is 
married to Rick, and they have two grown sons. They are owners of a 
very successful business serving the elderly community.
  Rita is an outspoken advocate for our servicemembers and has 
emphasized and enacted measures to enhance public safety, and community 
and family programs, including programs that support our military 
families at Offutt. She has served as a longtime board member for the 
Offutt Advisory Council and was appointed by Governor Pete Ricketts to 
the Commission on Military and Veterans' Affairs for the State of 
Nebraska.
  Mayor Sanders also embraced the importance of economic development 
and community enhancement throughout

[[Page H9771]]

the city starting from the time she served as chairman of Bellevue's 
Chamber of Commerce. As mayor, she has worked with other city and State 
officials on the Governor's Summit on Economic Development to provide 
expertise on areas such as workforce development, new business 
recruitment, and tax policy.
  On October 14, 2017, Mayor Sanders was inducted into the Chicago 
Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame. The consul general of the 
Philippines acknowledged Rita's diligent work to facilitate the return 
of the historic Balangiga bells which were acquired by U.S. soldiers in 
September 1901 and brought to America as tribute of the war they fought 
and the losses they suffered.
  Leaders of the Filipino Government and Catholic Church hold these 
bells as highly significant religious artifacts and expressed their 
concerns over the use of them as a war prize. When Mayor Sanders met 
with President Duterte earlier this year, she pledged her support to 
help retrieve the bells. She was successful in her endeavors and 
attended a ceremony at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming where 
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis announced the return of the bells.
  We are proud to recognize Mayor Sanders for her monumental 
leadership, tireless service, and epic achievements for the city of 
Bellevue, the Omaha area, and the State of Nebraska.


                         Recognizing Grace Fry

  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a young lady in 
Nebraska who is a fighter, a fighter against a medically complex 
condition known as acute myeloid leukemia, and a fighter to gain 
support for H.R. 3325, the Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 
2017, or the ACE Kids Act. That fighter is Grace Fry, who is 11 years 
old and is in remission from AML.
  Grace was diagnosed with AML when she was 9 years old after dark 
bruises started appearing on her shins. Her parents thought the young 
ballerina had suffered a dancing mishap, but these bruises grew larger.
  Aggressive treatment was started for Grace at Children's Hospital & 
Medical Center in Omaha, and her parents, Jeff and Mandy, managed to 
maintain a family for their two other children while going through 
these treatments. Mandy was able to step away from her job to care for 
Grace, and Jeff was able to telecommute. Thanksgiving that year was 
spent at the hospital cafeteria, and Grace's sister spent her 16th 
birthday at the hospital with her baby sister.

                              {time}  1215

  Jeff's job did provide the family with private insurance, but the 
loss of Mandy's income and increased travel costs made for a tight 
financial situation. Medicaid stepped in to help alleviate the costs 
not covered by insurance, such as deductibles and coinsurance.
  The ACE Kids Act is designed to improve care for children with 
medical complexities who are on Medicaid, while also reducing program 
spending. The ACE Kids Act addresses existing challenges facing these 
children, identified by families and physicians, including the 
provision and coordination of care across multiple providers and 
services, and easing access to out-of-State care.
  This legislation has strong bipartisan support in both Chambers of 
Congress, and I was pleased earlier this year to join 73 other 
Republicans and 60 Democrats in working to advance it. Tuesday, the 
bill will be up for consideration under suspension of the rules. I 
encourage my colleagues to support this legislation tomorrow.
  Grace loves all her nurses from Children's Hospital and Medical 
Center, which serves the most medically complex children in Nebraska 
and the region because of their highly specialized pediatricians and 
surgeons. Due to Children's wide footprint, Medicaid plays a 
significant role in their patients' lives.
  One day, the young fighter known as Grace hopes to become a pediatric 
oncology nurse. But until then, she will continue to fight for her 
health and fight for support of the ACE Kids Act.

                          ____________________