[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5502-H5503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ISSUES OF SIGNIFICANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman) for 30 minutes.

[[Page H5503]]

  

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, we discussed last week some of the 
issues that are of significance, and I don't think the press is paying 
enough attention to them.
  We just had a little bit more progress toward the development of 
fenofibrate, which is a generic drug, which some researchers from 
Israel have had some success on in curing COVID. I want to talk about 
these successes and then talk what is going to be necessary to have 
happen to get this potentially lifesaving drug in the mainstream.
  Two researchers from Israel found 15 people who were on oxygen and 
had pneumonia; and of the 15 people, after giving them fenofibrate, a 
generic drug available for very little, they got out of the hospital in 
5 days. The other took, I think, it was 14 days.
  That is pretty incredible stuff. If it could be used routinely, it 
would dramatically have reduced the number of deaths in this country.
  Right now there are a variety of people around the world trying to do 
research on this topic, including the University of Pennsylvania, and 
they are grateful they got some money from the U.S. Government. But 
given the promise of this drug, I think they should have gotten a lot 
more money to deal with it quickly.
  I have talked to the researchers, and they think they will be able to 
get together. I guess they need 700 patients before they can make a 
determination. They think they will be able to make a determination 
that this is a good drug by the end of March. That is not quick enough.
  If they had more money and more push, they would be able to get more 
potential patients, and I would like to think get a final determination 
by the end of December.
  So I am calling on my colleagues in Congress, as well as the NIH and 
the CDC, to highlight fenofibrate. It is also known as Tricor. It has 
been around a long time without dangerous side effects. Maybe there 
will be side effects with COVID, but there wasn't dangerous side 
effects otherwise. It has been used by millions of people. I am going 
to be circulating a letter, hoping that the administration wakes up and 
does something and does something quickly.
  And by the way, this doesn't only cure it, but one of the 
underpublicized problems with COVID is that if you get it, it can 
result in long-lasting problems, problems to your lungs, problems to 
your organs. It appears, tentatively, that fenofibrate will clear up 
those problems quicker and not as many people will have those problems.
  I am afraid from what I read that COVID is going to be around a long 
time. I know people who have gotten it after being vaccinated; not as 
bad, I guess, but they have gotten it. So again, I hope that this 
institution moves, and I hope the administration moves and hope we can 
move at warp speed and get a final determination on fenofibrate by the 
end of December.
  I would also like to address, given what has happened over the last 
week, what I believe is the biggest crisis facing the country today, 
and that is the problem at the southern border.
  The numbers are well known. Last July 8,000 people crossing the 
border, staying in the country. This year, 105,000, and a lot of people 
think that is a low number. The increase, the percentage increase 
wasn't quite as great in August. But, again, it was a substantial 
increase at a time of year where it is very hot and normally people 
aren't crossing the border.
  We know the effects. I also don't think it has been as publicized as 
it should be. The huge number of people who are dying of illegal drugs, 
clearing 90,000 in a year for the first time in this country. When I 
first got this job, 45,000 a year was a lot. Every politician had to 
say we wanted to do something to fight illegal drug use.
  Now that we have fentanyl, an especially dangerous drug, we have more 
than doubled the number of people dying. Politicians barely talk about 
it. But obviously that situation has been exacerbated at the southern 
border.
  My local sheriffs are saying, ``Glenn, why aren't they doing anything 
to stop this coming across the southern border?'' Think of all the 
families, the people who have died from illegal drug use.
  You think of all the humanitarian problems in addition to the huge 
financial impact this is going to have on America.
  I have been down at the border looking at the little children in 
pens, under 8 years old, unaccompanied by parents, staying there. What 
is going to become of these children? Apparently we don't care. We 
continue to let the system go on. We continue to allow the word go out 
around the world, not just Central America, but South America, Asia, 
everywhere, Russia, Cuba, Haiti, more and more people coming in this 
country. And every day we don't do something, the word gets out and the 
number continues to go up.
  But what I would like to address is how have some Members--I hope not 
that many. But currently the reconciliation bill that is under 
consideration, you read about it in the paper, how do they respond? Do 
they respond with more Border Patrol agents? No, we are going to keep 
the Border Patrol understaffed.
  Do they respond with a wall? Which whenever anybody thinks about it, 
whenever I am on the border talking to local law enforcement, talking 
to the Border Patrol, all thought the wall was a good idea. No, we are 
not going to respond that way.
  We are going to look at the crisis and change immigration law to 
dramatically increase the number of people coming here, whether it is 
increasing the number of green cards, increasing chain migration. Right 
now, and something that I think would end the United States as we know 
it, if this reconciliation bill passes, it will result in a dramatic 
increase in immigration.
  So instead of doing what anybody with an ounce of common sense would 
say, and let's hire more Border Patrol agents for the border, we go the 
other way and say we don't have enough people in this country. We are 
near record levels of the number of current Americans who have been 
born abroad. Immigrants are fine. I think in 2018 we swore in, I 
believe, 830,000 new citizens.

  But to respond to the crisis at the border, all the Haitians being 
let in, all the people from around the world to say let's change 
immigration law and let's dramatically increase the number of people 
who are coming here legally, to boot, is just crazy.
  It is unfair to all the people who have done things right. And it is 
up to us to make sure that in the future, people who come here have 
their years in doing jobs, are appropriately vetted, and make sure they 
are good citizens. Not to slap dash say, as scandalous as things are at 
the border, let's let in a lot of new people here as chain migration 
relatives or that many more green cards as well.
  So I beg this body to wake up. I beg the press corps to wake up as 
far as what is going on at the border, as well as what is going on in 
the reconciliation bill, and let the American public know what is going 
on.
  I realize that the reconciliation bill is long and complicated. We 
can't cover it all. But at least the American public ought to know what 
we are voting on before we destroy America. In addition to the 
generosity that is in the bill as well that further serves as a carrot 
to bring people here.
  We have a provision in there to give free Pell grants, free 
scholarships to people who are coming here illegally. Which, of course, 
will further encourage more people to come here. I still find that hard 
to believe. That if that bill passes as is, the average middle-class 
American will be expected to owe $20,000, $40,000, $50,000 in debt and 
may or may not get something available at the university. But if you 
show up at the southern border because you don't have a lot of money 
and are considered poor, you will get free college. I mean, no wonder 
people are coming here when they see the type of bills that our 
Congress propose.
  But above all, the other provisions are going to result in huge 
increases in immigration, and I beg the press corps to cover that.
  I would like to thank you for giving me this time to address these 
two problems, and I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________