[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 160 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4486-H4488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ISSUES OF THE DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Bacon).


  Recognizing Dean C. Mathisen's Service to our Nation and Nebraska's 
                            Second District

  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very respected friend from 
Wisconsin today for yielding. We had our 5-minute speeches cut short, 
so I appreciate the opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize Dean C. Mathisen for 20 years 
of service to our Nation and Nebraska's Second District. Dean is 
retiring from Federal service at the end of the 116th Congress in 
January 2021.
  Dean is a former U.S. Army officer and a combat veteran. He served as 
a field artillery officer on Active Duty in the U.S. Army during the 
Cold War, on its front lines in West Germany. He was next assigned as a 
military police officer who deployed to the desert during the first 
Gulf war. Dean also commanded a transportation company in the U.S. Army 
Reserves.
  In Nebraska's Second District, Dean served over 12 years as a senior 
constituent liaison for the Honorable Lee Terry from 2002 to January 
2015. During this tenure, he was instrumental in identifying the need 
and communicating with the Department of Veterans Affairs about 
bringing a national veterans cemetery to the district. Dean was a key 
element in finding the resources to enable the first homeless veterans 
housing project in Omaha to be completed as well.
  Dean then crossed the Missouri River in Iowa in 2016 and continued 
his Federal service in the office of the Honorable Joni Ernst. Here, he 
continued to use his personal experience to aid him in understanding 
the needs of our military servicemembers and veterans while solving 
constituent issues.
  In 2017, Dean became a member of my original Omaha district office 
team as a senior constituent liaison. During this time, he saw the need 
for and coordinated the efforts to establish a Federal veterans court 
for the State of Nebraska. In the summer, Dean was promoted to deputy 
district director.
  In his free time, Dean is active in local animal rescue and animal-
assisted therapy. He is known in our office to be an avid horseman, 
hunter, and shooter. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and 
The American Legion and is known as a great Dane.
  I want to offer Dean my sincere appreciation for his years of 
dedicated service to our great Nation and to Nebraska's Second 
Congressional District. His retirement is well earned. He should take 
great pride in his accomplishments in both his military and civil 
service careers for the citizens of the United States of America and 
the constituents of the Second District of Nebraska.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish Dean all the best in his future endeavors.


       Hispanic Heritage Month: Honoring Kathy and Greg Gonzalez

  Mr. BACON. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to commemorate two wonderful 
people during Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring a husband and wife 
pair of wonderful police officers from my district in Omaha. They have 
given lifetime contributions to law enforcement and have engaged in 
community efforts for our hometown.
  Gregory Michael Gonzalez and Katherine Lynn Belcastro-Gonzalez were 
born in South Omaha in the early seventies to immigrant families.
  One of six siblings, Greg grew up in a military environment as his 
father was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base.
  Kathy's mother fled from Lithuania to Nebraska after her grandfather 
was taken as a prisoner of war. Kathy and her siblings were then raised 
in the basement of a Lithuanian parish in South Omaha.
  Kathy and Greg were high school sweethearts at Omaha South High and 
went on to become married first-generation college graduates. Greg 
obtained an athletic scholarship at the University of Nebraska at 
Omaha, and Kathy attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln while 
simultaneously working three jobs. She graduated in 1993 and joined the 
Omaha Police Department the following year. Greg began his career in 
law enforcement in 1993 as the only Mexican American in the Douglas 
County Sheriff's Office.
  As assistant chief of the Omaha Police Department, Greg now helps 
oversee the hiring of officers and works to reflect the diverse 
community it serves, including Spanish-speaking officers. Additionally, 
Greg is an adjunct police academy instructor and instructs criminal 
justice courses at his alma mater.
  As captain of Omaha's southeast precinct, Kathy oversees one of the 
most culturally diverse areas in Omaha. In addition, her precinct also 
manages large-scale events and cultural celebrations, including the 
NCAA College World Series, events at TD Ameritrade Park, and Omaha's 
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

[[Page H4487]]

  Athletics are another passion Kathy and Greg share, and they believe 
competitiveness and teamwork are interpersonal skills that transfer 
from sports to the rest of life.
  The couple was instrumental in expanding the already successful 
police-led sports program for at-risk and disadvantaged youth in Omaha 
called the Police Athletics for Community Engagement, or PACE. This 
program is led by police officers and volunteers and was founded in 
2005 by Detective Tony Espejo, a 30-year member of the Omaha Police 
Department and veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Currently, 
retired OPD Captain Rich Gonzalez serves as PACE's executive director.
  This September, Greg and Kathy celebrate their 21st wedding 
anniversary joined by their three children, Izabella, Greg Jr., and 
Alex. Overall, Kathy and Greg believe they would not be where they are 
today without the support of parents and extended family.
  With an extended list of combined accolades and awards locally and 
nationally, Greg and Kathy Gonzalez exemplify the American Dream and 
the quintessential rise to success from hardworking immigrant families.

  Mr. Speaker, we salute Greg and Kathy. May the future reward them 
with health and prosperity to continue to serve and protect our 
communities.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to address several issues.
  The first issue that has been in the paper lately is vitamin D. I 
have spoken before this Chamber several times in the past on the 
importance of taking vitamin D. Over 40 percent of American adults do 
not have an adequate amount of vitamin D in their system.
  Several institutions of higher learning have done research and 
strongly suggest that vitamin D is a way to reduce the number of people 
who get COVID as well as greatly reduce the effects of COVID on those 
people who unfortunately get it. This has been found by MIT, by 
Northwestern in Evanston, and by Trinity College in Iowa.
  It has been my disappointment to this point that the appropriate 
government agencies that have no problem sending out press releases and 
advertisements on COVID have not addressed vitamin D.
  I was, therefore, elated to find out that, late last week, Dr. Fauci 
came out and supported the evidence behind vitamin D's benefits. Even 
more than that, Dr. Fauci said that he has been taking vitamin D 
himself, which is very good. This is a change.
  Traditionally, many people out there said that you should even stay 
inside, and one way to get vitamin D is to be out in the Sun. So, the 
idea that we need more vitamin D is the opposite of what some of the 
experts or at least what some politicians have told us.
  Vitamin D, of course, is good not only to prevent COVID but to 
prevent other sorts of infections and respiratory problems as well.
  Now that Dr. Fauci has come out and told us that getting more vitamin 
D is a good idea, and particularly now that Dr. Fauci has admitted that 
he himself has been taking vitamin D, I strongly encourage the CDC and 
all other appropriate government agencies to publicize the benefits of 
vitamin D.
  We have to do something other than just wait for a vaccine, which may 
or may not happen. And we all know, when it does happen, many people 
will not take that vaccine.
  I strongly encourage Dr. Fauci to follow up on his statements with 
approving TV commercials talking about vitamin D and the fact that he 
takes vitamin D in his future interviews.
  Harvard estimates that 1 billion individuals worldwide may be vitamin 
D deficient, and of course, the rest of the world looks to the United 
States for leadership. So, the benefits would not only accrue to 
American citizens but to citizens around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind you to take vitamin D, particularly if you have 
any friends or relatives who may be vitamin D deficient or have special 
problems. I would talk to your doctor and anybody who is going in for a 
regular check-up. I would ask for a vitamin D test as well because 
there are ways to reduce the number of people getting COVID and to 
reduce the number of fatalities other than just hanging around and 
waiting for a vaccine.
  Mr. Speaker, the next topic I would like to address tonight is also a 
medical topic that has been something I would have liked to address 
since I got here. I came across some information with regard to 
biosimilars, and that is people who need insulin.
  I consider myself an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Association, 
and I am aware of many different people who have diabetes. Depending 
upon the type of insurance you have, Mr. Speaker, if you have diabetes, 
you may be spending $100 a month on insulin. I have run into people who 
are spending $800 or $1,000 a month for insulin.
  Can you imagine if you have a child and you have to go out of pocket 
for another $1,000 a month just to keep your child alive?
  I ran into the fact that people are working on substitutes for 
insulin called biosimilars. I am introducing H.R. 8190, the Biosimilar 
Insulin Access Act, which will increase competition in the insulin 
market by making biosimilars available. Biosimilars are to insulin what 
generics are to normal prescription drugs.
  It would be tremendous if we could get more of these to the market. 
Right now, for whatever reason, it takes far too long to get these 
products to market. Sometimes, they aren't available at all. Because 
they are not available, people continue to have to overpay to keep 
themselves or their loved ones alive.
  Interchangeable biosimilar products are able to be automatically 
dispensed at the pharmacy counter for their brand-name reference 
product or brand-named insulin. We want to generate the same type of 
cost savings for insulin that we have already done in the past for 
generic drugs.
  I realize it is late in the session, but things can move fast. We all 
know that bills pass around here relatively soon after they are 
introduced.
  When I think of the people who are having to pay $1,000 a month or 
maybe just $500 or $600 a month for themselves or their children, I 
hope people in this building and the relevant committees and relevant 
leadership find a way to get this bill to the floor.
  I will be available to explain the importance of this bill. I am 
ready to explain the importance of this bill to any of the Members. I 
will be on the floor the next couple of days talking about it. I hope 
to get a good cosponsorship list, but I do hope that the relevant 
committees immediately take up this bill and get it to the floor so 
that we can save as much money as possible for the people who are stuck 
with this disease.
  The final point I am going to bring up tonight is concerning border 
security. It is an issue that, because of the COVID, has been pushed to 
the background. But pushed to the background or not, it remains to be 
important for this country.
  No country can continue to exist if they have open borders and 
unlimited and unvetted people continue to come here.
  Now, there are people who come here whom we do not expect to come 
here, who are caught or who come in contact with the border security, 
and there are other people who sneak across the border. They are never 
contacted by border security because, quite frankly, we have a shortage 
of agents, though they are caught on cameras.
  A year ago in May, right now about 15 months ago, 16 months ago, 
about 90,000 people came into contact with the Border Patrol and were 
allowed in this country--people who were not coming here through the 
normal immigration channels. Since that time--it is something that has 
been underpublicized, and quite frankly, it ought to be more publicized 
by President Trump himself because he is not afraid to publicize his 
successes--we have dropped from 90,000 people to under 2,000 people 
coming into contact with our Border Patrol and let in the country.
  This has been done by three things, all underpublicized.
  One, President Trump, in part by talking about tariffs--I believe, 
maybe not--has gotten the Mexican Government to agree to hold people on 
the Mexican side of the border instead of having people who are asking 
for asylum come to the United States and be released into the American 
interior where we never see them again.

                              {time}  1745

  We all know that some of these people are probably drug-running. We

[[Page H4488]]

know that some of these people are breaking the law. And we know that 
some of these people are going to wind up on some sort of public 
assistance. So we salute President Trump for reaching an agreement and 
holding people south of the border.
  The next thing President Trump has done is he has contacted the 
countries in Central America, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and 
made sure they are holding more people of not only their own nations, 
but people further south in their countries rather than allowing them 
into Mexico.
  Now, the United States does provide foreign aid to these countries, 
and I think it is important that we maintain good relations with these 
countries. But I think it has been under-publicized that President 
Trump, through negotiations with these countries, is further decreasing 
the number of people who are coming into this country who we do not 
necessarily want to have come into this country.
  And the final situation, is now people coming into this country, who 
may have COVID, are immediately turned around and told to go back home.
  So you combine these three things, and you go from about 90,000 
people coming into contact with the border patrol and being allowed in 
here to--I am told--under 1,000. It is almost too good to believe. But 
that is what happens when you have a man of action, a person who is 
committed to holding people south of the border.
  This is particularly true because in the future, we have people 
talking about giving people coming across the border free healthcare. 
We already know--unless you are blind--that people are taking advantage 
of public benefits who are coming here illegally.
  So I think at a time when there is so much bad news out of 
government, we ought to pay attention to exactly what happened when we 
went over 90,000 to certainly under 2,000--and maybe under 1,000 
people--allowed in the country. I will point out that this does not 
include people who do not come in contact with the border patrol. And 
in the year that is wrapping up, we estimate that about 10,000 people 
have come in here without contact with the border patrol. We know this 
because we have cameras taking pictures of people sneaking across the 
border. We do not have enough border control to turn these people 
around.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the border patrol for the number of 
pounds of cocaine, methamphetamines, and fentanyl which they have 
turned around at the border in the most recent year. That is certainly 
a degree of success. I know fentanyl, in particular, has been the 
newest lately, and I wish Congress would pay much closer attention to 
the people who are dying of fentanyl overdoses this year as the number 
of people who are dying of other unfortunate incidents.
  In any event, those are three things I want the American public to 
pay attention to. I, again, emphasize the importance of taking vitamin 
D.
  I emphasize the importance of getting biosimilars to the market so 
that we can save money for the poor people who have to take insulin.
  And I salute the border patrol and the administration for all they 
have done in greatly decreasing the number of people who are coming 
into this country illegally.
  Now, of course, in the Chamber today, we have many different people. 
And I am prepared to ask to adjourn, but if the people in the front of 
the room would rather hear a little bit more about fenofibrates, I 
would be happy to talk about fenofibrates.
  Do you want to hear about fenofibrates?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman yield back?
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of my time and ask 
for adjournment.

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