[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATING SENATOR JANE NELSON

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Texas State 
Senator Jane Nelson on her recent receipt of the Nathan Davis Award for 
Outstanding Government Service from the American Medical Association.
  Senator Nelson is a Republican who represents senate district 12 in 
Texas. She is my senator. She was elected to the Texas Senate in 1992 
after serving two terms on the Texas State Board of Education. At the 
board of education, future Senator Nelson led her colleagues on a fight 
to correct over 5,000 errors in textbooks across the State of Texas.
  During all of this activity, Senator Nelson has also managed to own 
and operate an aircraft component manufacturing firm with her husband 
Mike, while raising a son and four daughters, three of whom I 
delivered.
  Senator Nelson has made health care policy and advocacy for Texas 
patients a top priority. She wrote Texas' first comprehensive privacy 
law, she fought for HMO reform, and wrote the law returning physical 
education classes to help fight childhood obesity.
  In the most recent session of the State legislature, Senator Nelson 
worked for liability reform in the health care industry and for relief 
of rising health care costs. She also sponsored prompt pay legislation, 
which simply requires HMOs to pay their bills on time.
  This is definitely a high honor for Senator Nelson, as it would be 
for any elected official. In the years to come, hopefully, the Nation 
will be honoring more great leaders such as Senator Nelson for their 
hard work and dedication to worthy causes as health care reform.
  Senator Nelson, congratulations. I regard you as a friend and mentor, 
and, certainly, Texas physicians have no better friend in the State 
legislature, and you have been a true friend to the family of medicine 
across the country.

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