[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 260-261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  BIPARTISANSHIP AND END OF LIFE CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as we begin the new Congress, America 
sees the two parties in both the House and the Senate, along with the 
White House, making statements that establish positions that 
distinguish one from another.
  But what if we started not by defining our differences but with 
efforts that would bring us together?
  We ended the last Congress with the passage of the Paul Simon Water 
for the World Act, something I have worked on with my friend and 
partner from Texas, Ted Poe, for years here in the House. There was 
extraordinary bipartisan leadership demonstrated by Congressmen Charlie 
Dent, Aaron Schock, Senator Dick Durbin. It did take 6 years, but this 
bipartisan effort for a humanitarian cause, especially benefiting women 
and girls around the globe, was worth the time and effort.
  The legislation focused and enhanced American efforts dealing with 
international water and sanitation. Today 152 million hours will be 
spent by women and girls traveling to get water, often dirty water, to 
meet the needs of their families in some of the poorest regions of the 
planet.
  This legislation created more focused American leadership, and it was 
backed up by unprecedented increases in American aid for water and 
sanitation. It will pay benefits for generations to come for millions, 
making friends for America while it allows children to live longer and 
makes the lives of women and girls more bearable. And we did it 
together.
  Are there other such candidates for legislation that will bring us 
together? Dr. Phil Roe and I have been working on the Personalize Your 
Care Act with medical groups, advocacy organizations, experts in 
palliative care, hospitals, the community of faith.
  This is an effort to make sure that at the end of life for our loved 
ones, they actually get the treatment they want, not health care on 
autopilot.
  We have had tragic stories about how medical decisions by reflex and 
default have put people in isolated ICUs in painful and foreign 
settings when actually most of them, and in fact most of us, would 
rather be comfortable at home, surrounded by our loved ones.

                              {time}  1015

  There has been a brilliant and exhaustive report by the Institute of 
Medicine that deals with the problems and concerns and how we can do 
better. Dr. Atul Gawande's bestselling book, ``Being Mortal,'' makes it 
clear that there are crying needs and simple, commonsense compassionate 
solutions.
  There is a revolution taking place in health care today. What if, as 
part of that revolution, Congress started the new year with our 
bipartisan legislation, the Personalize Your Care Act, to make sure 
those families understand their choices, that their choices are known, 
and--most important--their choices are respected?
  We had dozens of cosponsors and broad support across the medical 
establishment and the community of faith. Maybe we can pick up where we 
left off and have this legislation bring us together to protect our 
families and start the year on a united front, giving families the 
protection they want for the care they need.
  There is no reason we in Congress need to spin our wheels and shout 
at and past each other. Mr. Speaker, I could have made this same 
presentation not about the water and sanitation, but about how this 
Congress came together in the final hours to help save the lives of 
Afghans and Iraqis who are now at risk from the tender mercies of

[[Page 261]]

the Taliban and al Qaeda because they helped Americans as guides and 
interpreters when we needed them.
  These are some of my examples of bipartisan cooperation that are 
important which we have done in the past. I would invite my colleagues 
to share their agenda of bipartisan, low or no-cost legislation that 
allows us to work together.
  It is not too late to start the year and this Congress right.

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