[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1054-H1055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TURNS 100 YEARS OLD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, growing up on our family farm in rural 
Kansas, one thing was for sure: Every day at about 12:20, over the 
lunch hour, and then again at about 10:20 at night, our family would be 
gathered around the television set to watch the latest weather forecast 
for the upcoming day.
  From aviation to agriculture, accurate and timely weather forecasts 
are essential to a number of industries across the United States, and 
especially to farmers and ranchers back home in Kansas.
  150 years ago, on February 9, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed 
into law a joint resolution creating what was known as the Signal 
Service, laying the foundation for what would become today's National 
Weather Service.
  While the organization has evolved over the years, the National 
Weather Service provides important weather data, forecasting, and 
warnings aimed at protecting life and property across the United 
States.
  There are four National Weather Service offices across Kansas working 
to analyze data and provide timely weather information. They are 
located in Topeka, Dodge, Wichita, and Goodland, and I have had the 
opportunity to visit several of these locations and the fine ladies and 
gentlemen that run those stations.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say happy 150th birthday to the National 
Weather Service and to say thank you for the around-the-clock work they 
do to keep us all safe and informed.


                            Surprise Billing

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, if you or a loved one has ever experienced 
a medical emergency, you know how stressful these situations can be; 
but for far too many, the stress and heartache does not end when help 
arrives or treatment is delivered.
  Nearly one in four Kansans seeking medical treatment either through 
planned surgery or emergency medical care are hit with a surprise bill 
because the care they received was from a provider outside of their 
network. In Kansas, this can happen after a trip to the emergency room 
for, say, a child's broken arm, a motor vehicle accident, or chest 
pain.
  Surprise billing may occur when a patient receives emergency care 
from a professional outside of their insurance network. Unfortunately, 
surprise billing can also occur in nonemergency situations where a 
surgery is planned out well in advance, but you later find out one of 
the doctors or services was not in your plan's network.
  These unplanned expenses can leave Kansans on the hook for 
thousands--if not tens of thousands--of dollars in additional medical 
bills, often depleting

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family savings or forcing individuals into long-term debt and even 
bankruptcy.
  The nightmare of unplanned medical billing has gone on far too long. 
Working alongside the White House and President Trump's leadership and 
my fellow members of the House Doc Caucus, I am proud of the solutions 
we have developed that would put an end to the unfair practice of 
surprise billing.
  I am encouraged by the widespread agreement in Congress to address 
the issue and am optimistic we can agree to commonsense policies that 
President Trump is eager to sign into law.
  We should all be able to agree on sensible reforms that address 
surprise billing. Specifically, patients should always be protected 
from surprise medical bills when receiving emergency or nonemergency 
care. Patients should only pay in-network rates for emergency care, and 
claims should be settled between healthcare providers and the insurer 
without roping in the patient.
  In the 21st century, we should expect that consumers have a right to 
accurate, transparent information about providers and their network 
with real and honest cost estimates before they make healthcare 
decisions.
  When referring a patient to another specialist as a physician myself, 
I always told my patients to check their health plan's provider 
directory, but also encouraged them to double-check with the 
physician's office directly in case the information was not up to date.
  This process can be confusing, time consuming, and unnecessary to 
physicians' offices as well as the patients, and it is my priority to 
fix it. These solutions have been more than a year in the making, and I 
am optimistic we are very close to accomplishing our shared goal of 
lowering the cost of healthcare and ending surprise billing once and 
for all.


                      Recognizing Stephanie Sigler

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, later today, a Kansan from my district 
will be honored at the Next Generation 911 Institute's Annual 911 Honor 
Award Showcase to recognize emergency response heroes and leaders from 
across the country for their excellence in emergency response.
  Stephanie Sigler works as a 911 phone operator for the Rice County 
Emergency Communications Center in Lyons, Kansas, and will be honored 
as a 911 public safety professional for her superior response efforts 
on the job.
  In April of last year, Stephanie received a 911 phone call reporting 
the shooting of a Rice County sheriff and undersheriff, which led to an 
hours-long standoff involving numerous law enforcement agencies. Thanks 
to the swift and professional job done by Stephanie, many lives were 
spared.
  Hundreds of millions of 911 callers, every year, rely on the 
dedication and cooperation of our public safety professionals like 
Stephanie. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize Stephanie Sigler for 
dedicating herself to help Kansans in need.
  I would like to also recognize Rice County Sheriff Bryant Evans and 
Undersheriff Chad Murphy, who were wounded in the shooting, as well as 
those who were heroically responding during this situation.

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