[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING TESS KUENNING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHRIS PAPPAS

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2025

  Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Tess 
Kuenning, president and CEO of Bi-State Primary Care Association. Her 
community-based approach to public health and exceptional leadership 
have significantly improved both the quality and accessibility of 
health care in New Hampshire, Vermont, and the rest of the country.
  Tess has dedicated her entire career to improving public health. 
After earning her Master's in Nursing and Public/Community Health in 
1990, she worked in Nepal as a Peace Corps nurse for five years. There, 
Tess taught women to be birth attendants and designed sustainable 
maternal and child health programs. While Tess loved working one-on-one 
with patients and clinicians, she wanted to expand her impact to the 
community level, pushing her to transition to public health. After 
returning to the United States, she worked for the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services as the principal public health advisor 
throughout New England and as a nurse consultant for the Health Care 
Finance Administration.
  For the past thirty years, Tess has led Bi-State Primary Case 
Association, which advocates for Community Health Centers in New 
Hampshire and Vermont. Community Health Centers play a crucial role in 
delivering primary care, especially in areas where medical services are 
limited or unaffordable. Offering accessible, preventive, and routine 
care, they serve as a vital lifeline for low and moderate-income 
families who might otherwise go without essential health services. As 
president and CEO of Bi-State PCA, Tess has been instrumental in 
leveraging her clinical background, experience in public health, and 
many connections to stakeholders, nonprofits, and Congressional Offices 
like my own to uplift community health centers in our state. Under her 
leadership, Bi-State has grown from a staff of 6 to over 20 and now 
serves over 312,000 patients across New Hampshire and Vermont.
  I have had the pleasure of meeting with Tess multiple times over the 
past few years, and I am always inspired by her determination, 
creativity, positivity, and genuine passion for community health. I am 
so grateful to Tess for sharing her experience and knowledge with me 
and other Members of Congress, helping us improve our healthcare 
system. Tess is a true leader and public servant, and I want to 
acknowledge the profound positive impact she has had on community 
health in her community.
  On behalf of my constituents in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional 
District, I thank Tess Kuenning for her selflessness and dedication to 
the patients she serves. Her dedication to advocating for community 
health centers has improved healthcare in our state and has made her 
community a better place. Tess's work has brought us one step closer to 
ensuring that health care is a right, not a privilege, for all. I wish 
her all the best in the years to come.

                          ____________________