[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 38 (Monday, March 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SUPPORT COVID-19 HOSPITAL LOAN CONVERSION

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to support and ask my colleagues to 
support the COVID-19 Hospital Loan Conversion Act, a bipartisan piece 
of legislation that I have introduced along with my good friend from 
Ohio (Mr. Gibbs).
  Madam Speaker, our Nation's hospitals have invested heavily to 
prepare for and care for us during the coronavirus pandemic. They 
canceled tens of thousands of elective surgeries and nonemergency 
patient tests, at the government's request, to help ensure adequate 
hospital capacity, preserve gear and equipment, and reduce the risk of 
unnecessary patient spread.
  Madam Speaker, this major shift has put some of America's hospitals 
on the brink of financial disaster. While a provider grant program that 
costs $175 billion and is designed to provide support to all providers 
is helpful, more support is needed, especially in regions that fall 
well below the median household income at the national average.
  Madam Speaker, this legislation will convert Medicare accelerated and 
advance payment loans to grants to ensure the additional financial 
support hospitals and other providers direly need.
  Hospitals across my district have shared that in the absence of more 
financial support, including this assistance, it is possible they will 
be forced to close their significantly scaled back operations.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the bill, the Gibbs-
Kaptur, Kaptur-Gibbs bill, to help these hospitals out.

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