[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 108 (Monday, June 29, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4265-H4266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DIMINISHED ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE

  (Mr. Courtney of Connecticut was recognized to address the House for 
5 minutes.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, 5 days from now, on July Fourth, our 
country will be celebrating its 250th birthday.
  All over the Nation, there will be enthusiastic events in big cities 
and small towns to recognize the publication, 250 years ago, of the 
Declaration of Independence, which, as historian Jill Lepore recently 
wrote, is ``arguably the most important piece of prose in modern 
history.''

[[Page H4266]]

  Its author, Thomas Jefferson, laid out a vision of an independent 
America built around the individual's rights to life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness, which still inspire not only our own people but 
people all over the world.
  Unfortunately, it is also the 1-year anniversary of arguably one of 
the worst pieces of legislation in the modern era, the so-called One 
Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law on July 
Fourth, 2025.
  As the Congressional Budget Office documented, this bill will add 3.4 
trillion new dollars to our national debt, provide permanent $1 
trillion tax breaks to the top 1 percent of income earners, cut 
nutrition programs by at least $187 billion, and, worst of all, cut $1 
trillion from America's largest healthcare program, Medicaid, starting 
on January 1.
  At the time the bill was debated, an overwhelming coalition of 
hospitals, nursing homes, physician groups, nurses, and patient groups 
tried to warn the Republican majority and the White House that millions 
of Americans will be denied healthcare from this draconian butchery of 
the healthcare system. To be exact, 10 million Americans will lose 
their coverage, according to CBO.
  The majority dismissed those concerns and jammed this measure 
through, accusing Democrats of scaremongering. According to them, the 
new work requirements in the law for vulnerable populations would have 
exemptions for the ``medically frail,'' and there was nothing to worry 
about.
  A couple of weeks ago, however, these warnings sadly came true when 
RFK Jr.'s health department released the actual rule that State 
Medicaid directors will have to follow starting in January.
  The hope was that a medical diagnosis for cancer, HIV, or other 
serious, chronic conditions would qualify for protection. Instead, the 
rule makes clear that a cancer diagnosis will not automatically qualify 
for an exemption. Instead, the patient will have to document that the 
disease actually impairs the ability to work.
  A patient suffering from pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, breast 
cancer, or lymphoma will have to demonstrate, with job searches and 
employer paperwork, that the disease and the debilitating therapies are 
an impairment, a hopelessly vague standard that will rob desperately 
ill patients of care.
  To put it in a nutshell, the definition of ``medical frailty'' is no 
longer a medical diagnosis by a doctor but a subjective employability 
standard that makes no sense.
  There is a word for this, Mr. Speaker. It is ``inhumane.''
  Don't take my word for it. On this poster is a list of 48 patient 
groups vehemently denouncing this vicious rule, which Secretary Kennedy 
and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should withdraw 
immediately.
  As you can see, the most credible patient groups--American Cancer 
Society, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, National MS Society, 
American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Lupus Foundation 
of America, March of Dimes, The ALS Association, and The AIDS 
Institute, to name just a few--have all warned Kennedy and his 
followers in Congress that this rule will create chaos and dramatically 
increase the number of desperately ill people who will lose their 
health coverage.
  There is no better way to honor the principles of our treasured 
Declaration of Independence--to guarantee the right to life and the 
pursuit of happiness--than to block this grotesque rule, which will 
condemn the sickest and most vulnerable of our society to degradation 
and pain.

                          ____________________