[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11964]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    MAX PAGE SAYS CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE NEEDS A BIPARTISAN SOLUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Ruiz) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, with all the political rhetoric, the finger-
pointing, and the many versions of TrumpCare, hyperpartisan politicians 
often forget what this debate is all about.
  It is about people, about relieving a person's pain and suffering, 
about giving a person a chance to live a healthy and happy life. It is 
about Max Page. Maybe you will remember him. Max was the mini Darth 
Vader from a Super Bowl commercial in 2011 who captured our hearts.
  Max was born with tetralogy of Fallot, a rare and deadly congenital 
heart defect. Throughout his 12 years, Max has had more than 10 heart 
surgeries under the loving care at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He 
lives every day with a pacemaker and an artificial pulmonary valve. 
Open heart surgeries are complex and very serious surgeries. They are 
tough on patients, with often a long recovery, and grueling for the 
family.
  Max stopped by my office a few days ago to talk about his experience, 
and he told me: ``I am going to have my condition all my life. I am 
going to have surgery as a constant commotion on my life. I just want 
to be covered. I don't want to have to worry about insurance and how I 
am going to pay these bills. I just want to focus on keeping myself 
healthy and not having to sacrifice everything for a surgery.''
  Max wants to play baseball. He loves Harry Potter, and he dreams of 
being an actor. Earlier this year, Max was in the hospital for 
treatments for an entire month. His mom, Jennifer, described how they 
were feeling bummed one day after such a long and arduous hospital 
stay. They decided to take a walk, and on their walk they met a boy 
Max's age named Will. Will is still in the hospital today. He has been 
there 9 months waiting desperately for a heart transplant.
  Max told me how Will has spent every holiday and even his birthday in 
the hospital this year. Max wanted to do something for Will, so they 
had these bracelets made. He named them ``Will Power.'' They have Max's 
favorite verse on them. Max and Will connected. They developed a bond 
bound by compassion. Their hope for a normal life gave them strength 
and friendship, and Max promised Will he would bring the bracelets to 
Congress when they came.
  Philippians 4:13: ``I can do all things through Christ who 
strengthens me.''
  Max and Will, that is my favorite verse, too.
  Max is fighting to protect other kids like him and Will, people with 
a preexisting illness, from losing coverage and having to pay more from 
facing a lifetime path on coverage.
  He came to tell the stories of so many other children he knows from 
his many hospital visits. His message is simple: ``Children's 
healthcare needs a bipartisan solution.''
  Max and Will and all the friends they have made in the hospital 
aren't rooting for Democrats or Republicans. They are fighting for 
their life and rooting for each other. They are children who want to 
get healthy, who want to stay healthy and care for one another.
  We can all learn from Max's and Will's selfless courage to help 
others. Stop the hyperpartisan fight to score political points and 
start fostering a bond through compassion.
  Let's find a way to protect healthcare for Max and Will. In the midst 
of this healthcare fight, we should take a moment to pause and remember 
that goal. Let's be like Max and think of others as we come together to 
find a bipartisan solution to address what isn't working, and remember 
Max's message: Children's healthcare, all healthcare, must and should 
be a bipartisan issue.

                          ____________________