[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4840]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             COMMUNITY, MIGRANT AND HOMELESS HEALTH CENTERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Crenshaw). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, Community, Migrant and Homeless Health 
Centers provide cost-effective, quality health care to our country's 
poor and medically underserved. They act as a vital safety net for our 
health delivery system and reduce health disparities that large 
portions of our populations experience.
  These centers are nonprofit, community-owned and operated, and serve 
all 50 States. They provide health care to those who otherwise could 
not have access to it, serving one in 12 rural citizens, nine in 8 low-
income Americans, and one in 10 uninsured Americans. Surely this is 
something that this House in a bipartisan manner can support.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) who will 
follow and speak on this same issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I represent a rural area; and much of my district has 
very limited access to health care. Centers in my district operating in 
Salem, Vandalia, and Springfield, Illinois, have made vital health 
services available to the community. By serving a specific area, the 
centers can tailor their services to the specific needs of the 
community and work with the schools, businesses, churches and community 
organizations to provide the best care possible.
  Community health centers are cost-effective in a viable way to bring 
quality health care to underserved populations. Increasing Federal 
funding will enable community health centers to expand and reach more 
of the uninsured. That is why I support the Reach bill, which would 
double the budget for community health centers.

                              {time}  1730

  But it is also an inexpensive way to get preventative and primary 
health care to those who have fallen through our health care delivery 
system.
  I encourage all our colleagues to support this vital program that 
helps so many.

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