[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 194 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H4764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PRESERVING RURAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS IS LITERALLY LIFE AND DEATH

  (Ms. RANDALL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, as the Representative of a district full of 
forests, mountains, and rugged coastlines that are beautiful but often 
mean a long drive to the hospital, I know that preserving rural 
healthcare access is literally life and death in our communities.
  Tribal health clinics, federally qualified health centers, rural 
hospitals, and independent providers are facing challenge upon 
challenge upon challenge. At Grays Harbor Community Hospital, I saw 
firsthand how tariffs are driving up costs for medical devices and 
supplies, adding financial strain to already stretched rural 
facilities.
  The hospital recently invested in a new MRI machine, a critical 
upgrade that offers faster scans and higher resolution images, but 
because of tariffs, they had to pay significantly more money to 
purchase this machine. That is money they now can't use for other 
things.
  Advanced medical equipment like this is increasingly expensive under 
the Trump administration. Add to that the Medicaid cuts in the big, 
ugly bill and the end of the ACA tax credits, the strain and 
uncertainty is challenging.
  On National Rural Health Day, we should be working together to expand 
care, not making it more difficult for rural communities.

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