Michael Burgess

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. John Tippets for his recent election to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions. He is currently the President and CEO of American Airlines Federal Credit Union, located in the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. John has been an advocate for federal credit unions for over 15 years, both at the State and local levels. He has previously served on the Filene Institute Advisory Council, the Federal Reserve's Thrift Institutions Advisory Council and Fannie Mae's National Advisory Council. In addition, John currently serves on the Aspen Institute's Advisory Board for the ``Initiative on Financial Security,'' and on NAFCU's Legislative Committee. Under John's guidance, the American Airlines Federal Credit Union has continued to grow, serving over 200,000 employees of the air transportation industry in 40 States. During his time of leadership, John has worked hard to ensure that the Credit Union continues to reflect its original principles: promoting thrift, cooperative ownership, and encouraging volunteer leadership within each community. I know John will continue to serve his industry with dedication and leadership. Again, I wish John good luck in his new position as a member of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions Board of Directors.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, America has the best health care system in the world. That is not to say there is not some room for improvement. There exists, currently, a tangle of medical bureaucracies, and many times no one has a clear picture of what the problem is. Physicians and other providers don't get paid enough and don't get paid on time. Patients pay too much. Many people don't get any care at all, and everyone claims that someone else needs to change in order to fix the problem. Before we start changing things, however, it does seem prudent to more fully understand the problem. Today, I have introduced legislation with that goal in mind. This is another step toward true price transparency in the health care market. The Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2006 is a long-term solution to runaway medical costs. This bill calls upon the States to establish and maintain laws requiring disclosure of information on hospital charges. To make such information available to the public and to provide individuals with information about estimated out-of-pocket costs for health care services. Indeed, well over 30 States have passed or will soon pass their own transparency legislation, so an idea that is already in process. This legislation means that State law will require health insurance providers to give actual patients an actual dollar estimate of what the patient will pay for health care items and services within a specified period of time. Additionally, the bill calls for research on the type of cost information that individuals find useful in making health care decisions, how this information varies according to an individual's health insurance coverage and, if so, by what type of coverage, and finally, ways that information may be distributed in a timely and simple manner. Price, cost and quality. This is what our patients are asking us for, information about these three parameters, and it is prudent to make this information available to consumers. Simple but important provisions. The current health insurance system has insulated people from the actual cost of medical care that they receive. By pulling back the curtain on capacity in the health care market, over time, this legislation will lead to the development of more rational pricing, a more rational pricing structure from the consumer's perspective. Once we understand the actual cost, then we can begin to make effective changes, leading to fairer physician reimbursement, appropriate patient billing and better medical services. Part of the bill will deal with the rules of construction under the State laws. States with previously established laws that meet requirements are not required to change their laws. Previously established laws that do not meet requirements need only to change their laws as necessary to meet the requirements. States that currently have voluntary disclosure on hospital charges will still need to adopt laws. In August, President Bush issued an executive order calling for increased transparency within the Federal Government's health care agencies, a good first step. This legislation is an extension of that executive order, giving States the tools to become a part of the necessary solution for health care consumers. Madam Speaker, the time is short in this legislative session, but I believe this is legislation that the House can take up and get passed in short order.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Chuck Ekleberry of Hickory Creek, Texas for publishing his first book of poetry titled ``Out of the Knight''. Mr. Ekleberry, an engineer by profession, started writing poetry 4 years ago and has since written over 200 poems. With the help of his mother and friends, Mr. Ekleberry was able to assemble the collection of poems for the book. His ability to take a hobby and turn it into a work such as ``Out of the Knight'' shows his passion and dedication to literature. I extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Chuck Ekleberry on his first publication of poems. His contribution to the arts community of Denton County should serve as an inspiration to us all. I am honored to represent Mr. Ekleberry in Congress.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, we currently have a health care system that is badly in need of reform. However, in the tangled mess of medical bureaucracy, no one has a clear picture of the problem. Physicians and other providers don't get paid enough, patients pay too much, many people don't get any care at all, and everyone claims that someone else needs to change. Before we start changing things, though, it seems prudent to understand the problem fully. Today, I have introduced legislation with that goal in mind. This is a first step toward true price transparency in the health care market. The Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2006 is a long-term solution to runaway medical costs. This bill calls upon the States to establish and maintain laws requiring disclosure of information on hospital charges, to make such information available to the public, and to provide individuals with information about estimated out-of-pocket costs for health care services. This means that State law will require health insurance providers to give patients an actual dollar estimate of what the patient must pay for health care items and services within a specified period of time. Additionally, the bill calls for research on: (1) The types of cost information that individuals find useful in making decisions regarding healthcare; (2) how this useful information varies according to an individual's health insurance coverage, and if so, by what type of coverage they have; and (3) ways that this information may be distributed in a timely and simple manner. These are simple but important provisions. The current health insurance system has insulated people from the actual cost of the medical care they receive. By pulling back the curtain on opaque areas of the health care market, over time, this legislation will lead to the development of a more rational pricing structure from the consumer's perspective. Once we understand the actual cost, then we can begin to make effective changes leading to fair physician reimbursement, appropriate patient billing, and better medical services. In August, President Bush issued an executive order calling for increased transparency within the Federal Government's health care agencies. This legislation is an extension of that executive order, giving States the tools to become part of a necessary solution for health care consumers.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the superior performance of the '91 Texas Elite Fast Pitch softball club on their 5th place finish in the National Championship on August 6th, 2006. The team placed 5th after competing against 114 fast pitch softball teams from around the Nation. During the course of the tournament the ladies had a record of 9 and 2 and finished the tournament as the highest ranked Texas team. Their success was the combined effort of many extremely talented athletes, and would not have been possible if it was not for the incredible sense of teamwork put forth by all athletes. I extend my sincere congratulations to coaches Slade Maloney and Stephanie Tamayo, as well as Ms. Taylor Petrick, Ms. Rayne House, Ms. Natalie Nimmo, Ms. Sara Draheim, Ms. Valerie Howell, Ms. Taylor Hoagland, Ms. Lindsay Zaobjnik, Ms. Danika Miller, Ms. Taylor Sells, Ms. Kim Spivey, and Ms. Magean De La Torre, the members of the '91 Texas Elite softball club.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give tribute to Dr. Sterling Smith, of Denton, Texas, for his lifelong commitment and contributions to his community and to education. A native of Denton, Texas, Dr. Smith received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas in 1963. He also received a Master of Secondary Education degree from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in Science and Mathematics Education from the University of Texas at Austin. A 40-year veteran of public education and an avid mountain-climber, Dr. Smith died August 21st as the result of a fall while descending South Maroon Peak near Aspen, Colorado. Dr. Smith began as a product of the Denton public school system and spent 30 of his 40 years as an educator teaching at the Texas Women's University in Denton. He worked closely for years with science teachers in North Texas and served for 2 years as president of the Denton High School Band Booster Club. He was active in the Boy Scouts for more than 40 years and volunteered as a teacher in the men's Sunday school class at First Baptist Church. Most recently, Dr. Smith had been elected as the newest member of the Denton school board, his first elected office, and fellow members said he was already hard at work getting caught up on the complex issues associated with a modern public school system. Dr. Smith was a lifelong champion of education and service to his community. I join in mourning the loss of Dr. Smith and extend my deepest sympathies to his friends and family. He will be deeply missed and his service and dedication will always be greatly appreciated.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Captain Michael R. Womack, of North Richland Hills, Texas on his years of dedicated service and commitment to law enforcement. Captain Womack joined the North Richland Hills Police Department as a police office in September of 1976. During his thirty years of service to North Richland Hills, Captain Womack has been awarded the Patrolman of the Year Award, the Supervisor of the Year award, as well as three Meritorious Service Awards and a Life Saving Award. On Wednesday, January 31, 2007, Captain Womack will be retiring from law enforcement. Having worked in the Patrol Division, the Administrative Services Division, as well as the Technical Services Division and Investigative Services Division, Captain Womack's tenure, skills, and experience will surely be difficult to replace. Mr. Speaker, I commend Captain Womack on his devotion to the service and protection to his community. His contributions and commitment to North Richland Hills should inspire us all. I wish him the best of luck in his retirement and all of his future endeavors.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Rising Star Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas on its 75th Anniversary. The church's modest beginning began on September 13, 1931 in a local diner, when Reverend Smith Cary and a small number of members organized Rising Star Church. The church has seen the leadership of many dynamic ministers including, Reverend Smith Cary, Reverend T.H. Davis, and its present pastor, Reverend Ralph W. Emerson, Jr. The stated vision of the Church is to be ``the Worship Center that seeks to reclaim lost souls, reshape lives, rejoice in love, react to the Holy Spirit while responding to God's call''. Rising Star Baptist church has exemplified their vision through growth to a congregation of over 2,500 members and progressing into a multi-ministry church. Rising Star Baptist Church continues to be an influential presence and respected contributor to the Fort Worth community and greater Tarrant County citizenry. I extend my sincere congratulations to the Rising Star Baptist Church on their 75th anniversary and praise their dedication and service to the people of Fort Worth, Texas.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, the President gave a major policy speech today outlining the future and the fate of those individuals who are detained at our base in Guantanamo, Cuba. Two months ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Guantanamo to evaluate for myself the treatment of the individuals who are housed there. Mr. Speaker, I might remind us how these individuals held in that facility are not signatories of the Geneva Convention, nor are they citizens of the United States and, therefore, entitled to constitutional protections. With these individuals, it is not a question of guilt or innocence. It is a question of capability and intent. Clearly, these are individuals who are capable of doing our country great harm. Clearly, the intent is there. I think the President is on the right track with the announcement today of military tribunals. I look forward to us getting that legislation in the House and passing it forthwith.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor tonight to talk about the way that this Congress and the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services pays for patient access in the Medicare system and how they reimburse physicians. Under the current formula, America's doctors participating in Medicare can expect an annual pay cut of approximately 5 percent over the next decade. That translates to between a 30 and a 36 percent pay reduction for physicians in this country over the next 10 years. Now, Mr. Speaker, I do not know of many small businesses where the expectation of their overhead payments is going to fall by a third over the next 10 years. Indeed, it will be very hard for many of these individuals to remain in business if this issue is not fixed. Not addressing this impending crisis would be negligent at best and put frail and elderly Medicare beneficiaries at risk of losing their physician. The current Medicare physician payment methodology is fundamentally flawed, and it must be reformed. It is not going to be fixed by the application of a Band-Aid. This requires major surgery. A recent bill introduced, 5856, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform and Quality Improvement Act of 2006, will attempt to accomplish this and two additional goals. The three purposes of this bill are, one, ensure that physicians receive fair payment for the services that they provide; number two, create quality performance measures and improve the quality improvement organizations that exist to improve the quality of care available to Medicare patients; and, three, identify reasonable offsets to give Medicare physicians a more regular and predictable payment update year to year. Without intervention, payment for physician services will be cut more than 5 percent next year. H.R. 5866 ends the application of what is known as the sustainable growth rate on January 1, 2007, and institutes a single conversion factor, the Medicare economic index minus 1 percent. This creates a more market-based approach to physician payment by placing more value on the actual costs of inputs and not on arbitrary volume of service targets each year. In other words, doctors would be paid the same as hospitals are paid, the same as nursing homes are paid, the same as long-term care hospitals are paid, based upon the market cost of inputs for providing that care. The bill also establishes a system of quality performance measures so that physicians can voluntarily, and let me stress the word voluntarily, report data to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Patients can then assess the level of quality of their prospective doctors, the level those doctors are achieving, and decide which doctor they would prefer to use. These measures will be developed in collaboration with physician specialty organizations for core medical services to make certain that these measures are relevant and meaningful to that particular practice of that branch of medicine. As an incentive to participate in reporting for performance measures, participating physicians will be permitted to balance bill certain high-income Medicare beneficiaries. Redirecting the stabilization fund from the Medicare Modernization Act provides an additional $10 billion for offsets. Eliminating the double payment from Medicare for indirect costs of medical education is another source of offsetting these costs. Mr. Speaker, this August, the American Medical Association, in its publication the American Medical News, talked about this bill, 5866. Quoting now, it said that ``the bill would ensure positive annual updates by tying rates to the Medicare economic index. This index is an indicator of how much doctors' cost of caring for patients is increasing. If lawmakers and the White House can approve the measure before Congress adjourns for the year, physicians would start receiving yearly updates equal to an approximately 1.5 percent increase in Medicare rates.'' The bill drew endorsements, of course, from the American Medical Association. But also the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Clinical Endocrinologists are a few of the specialty organizations that have endorsed the concept of this legislation. We need help to make real changes in this system. We need help from every Member on both sides of the aisle. We need to create solutions and stop simply talking about the Medicare problem. I am asking my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring H.R. 5866.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to go out of order.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Misty Pena of North Richland Hills, Texas, on receiving the venerated 2006 Presidential Freedom Scholarship. As a recipient of this prestigious award, she is recognized for her outstanding leadership and commitment to servicing of her community and its residents. The Presidential Freedom Scholarship program, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and administered by Learn and Serve America, honors select high school juniors and seniors, displaying exceptional service and citizenship, with a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. To be eligible for nomination, individuals must have completed at least 100 hours of community service and receive the recommendation of their high school. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sincere congratulations to Misty Pena on receiving this award and commend her dedication and desire to help her school, community, and country.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Marc Belle of Flower Mound, Texas, on receiving the venerated 2006 Presidential Freedom Scholarship. As a recipient of this prestigious award, he is recognized for his outstanding leadership and commitment to servicing of his community and its residents. The Presidential Freedom Scholarship program, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and administered by Learn and Serve America, honors select high school juniors and seniors, displaying exceptional service and citizenship, with a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. To be eligible for nomination, individuals must have completed at least one hundred hours of community service and receive the recommendation of their high school. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sincere congratulations to Marc Belle on receiving this award and commend his dedication and desire to help his school, community and country

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Heather Crossman of North Richland Hills, Texas, on receiving the venerated 2006 Presidential Freedom Scholarship. As a recipient of this prestigious award, she is recognized for her outstanding leadership and commitment to servicing of her community and its residents. The Presidential Freedom Scholarship program, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and administered by Learn and Serve America, honors select high school juniors and seniors, displaying exceptional service and citizenship, with a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. To be eligible for nomination, individuals must have completed at least 100 hours of community service and receive the recommendation of their high school. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sincere congratulations to Heather Crossman on receiving this award and commend her dedication and desire to help her school, community and country.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Bryce Benton, a graduate student in the masters program at the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences, on receiving the Paul Evan Peters Award. This great honor is awarded jointly by the Association of Research Libraries, the Coalition for Networked Information and EDUCAUSE to individuals whose achievements in information science and librarianship move forward intellectual productivity and scholarship. Mr. Benton's most recent work with DSpace open source systems on an institutional repository pilot project at the University of North Texas has won him many accolades from his professors and fellow peers. Described as ``personable, enthusiastic, and as someone who possesses a `volunteering spirit,' '' and recognized by this award for his ``civic responsibility, democratic values, and imagination,'' he will undoubtedly continue to advance the field of librarianship and information sciences. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Bryce Benton on receiving the Paul Evans Peters Award and commend his dedication and desire to helping promote scholarship and intellectual productivity.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mychal Black of Lewisville, Texas, on receiving the venerated 2006 Presidential Freedom Scholarship. As a recipient of this prestigious award, she is recognized for her outstanding leadership and commitment to servicing of her community and its residents. The Presidential Freedom Scholarship program, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and administered by Learn and Serve America, honors select high school juniors and seniors, displaying exceptional service and citizenship, with a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. To be eligible for nomination, individuals must have completed at least 100 hours of community service and receive the recommendation of their high school. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sincere congratulations to Mychal Black on receiving this award and commend her dedication and desire to help her school, community and country.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, maybe it is because I am also a physician, but one of the questions I get most frequently at town hall meetings or just after the town hall meeting is: How come I turned 65 and I have got to change doctors? The reason, Mr. Speaker, is because we are relying on a formula, a 10-year-old formula, a failed formula that does not adequately reimburse physicians' offices for what it costs them to deliver the care to our Medicare patients. To that end, a bill has been introduced, H.R. 5866, and I would encourage other Members to spend some time over the August break to look at this bill. Yes, it is a little long. Yes, it is a little complex. But it is important work. It ensures that physicians receive full and fair payment for their services based on the cost of the inputs that costs them to run their practice. It creates quality performance measures that allows patients to be informed consumers. It builds on the quality improvement that we have done in this Congress and that private medicine has done throughout the country for the last decade. And, finally, it seeks to find reasonable methods of paying for these benefits within the bill. Mr. Speaker, the time has come to revise this failed formula that serves no one good. We need to provide physicians with regular, stable, predictable updates to the cost of their practices.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chairman, thank you for bringing this important bill to the floor. The bill, 4157, will codify and expand the authorities and duties of the office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Department of Health and Human Services. This includes a number of responsibilities, such as endorsing the interoperability guidelines under a schedule, conducting a national survey on the information exchange capabilities of certain entities, and reviewing Federal information systems and security practices. The bill requires that certain Federal health information collection systems be capable of receiving information in a form consistent with any guidelines endorsed by the National Coordinator, within 3 years of endorsement. We have heard some discussion about the issues of grants. Currently there are grants through both CMS and my own Texas medical foundation back in Texas. But indeed, this bill authorizes targeted grants to help integrated health systems relay information and better coordinate the delivery of care for uninsured, under insured and medically underserved populations. The bill also contains a demonstration program to promote the adoption of health IT in the small physician setting, absolutely critical in many of our rural markets. My colleague, Dr. Murphy, was up here a moment ago and showed a picture of a medical record, an old paper medical records system in a hospital. I actually want to tell you that that is pretty far from the truth. Normally you go in medical records department, it is nowhere near that clean. There are records stacked on the floor. They are stacked by dictation machines. Oftentimes a critical record is hard to find. But contrast that with what I saw in New Orleans, Louisiana when we had a hearing down there earlier this year. The records room of Charity Hospital is absolute chaos. There is still water on the floor. There are records all over that room. There is black mold growing up the sides of the records. Clearly, those records are unusable in any form or any hope to be usable in the future. That is why this legislation is so critical. Lives, as well as money and time can be saved if we make these important steps towards enacting this legislation.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to welcome my pastor, Reverend Richard Kevin Barnard. I am honored that Father Barnard is here today to lead us in glory and praise of our Almighty. Reverend Barnard has served as rector of The Chapel of the Cross, a Reformed Episcopal Church, since July of 1989. He has also served Reformed Episcopal congregations in New Jersey and New York. Before coming to The Chapel, Father Barnard was director of communications for the International Bible Society, which was then located in East Brunswick, New Jersey. In that capacity, he was a regular participant in the monthly White House Forum for Religious Organizations during the Reagan administration and represented the Bible Society at public and private events, traveling to Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Father Barnard is the author of two books and numerous articles, and is also a Past Master of the Roy Stanley Masonic Lodge in Dallas. Before becoming a Reformed Episcopalian, the Reverend Barnard was a Baptist pastor, serving congregations in Missouri, Florida and Tennessee. He is a graduate of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, and holds a master of divinity degree from Cummins Theological Seminary, a Reformed Episcopal seminary in Summerville, South Carolina. Father Barnard is married to the former Miss Paula Ann Henderson of Fort Worth, Texas. They have four children and two grandchildren. Their youngest son, Adam, is currently serving aboard the USS Los Angeles stationed at Pearl Harbor. Father Barnard's gracious presence and true dedication to the work and word of Christ is an instrumental part of my life. He guides his flock diligently and challenges us to remain faithful to pursuing our walk with Christ daily. I am thankful for his leadership and his presence here today. It is truly an honor.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor tonight to talk to my colleagues about a bill, H.R. 5866. This is a bill that will repeal the SGR, the formula by which physicians are paid under Medicare, and replace it with a more sustainable, more market-friendly Medicare economic index which in fact reflects the actual costs of input for the physician delivering the care. Mr. Speaker, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform and Quality Improvement Act of 2006 has four main goals: First, to ensure that physicians receive full and fair payment for services rendered; secondly, to create quality performance measures that allow patients to be informed consumers when choosing their Medicare provider; thirdly, to improve Quality Improvement Organization accountability and flexibility; and, fourth, to find reasonable methods of paying for these benefits. Current law calculates an annual update for physician services based on the sustained growth rate, or SGR, as well as the Medicare economic index and the adjustment to bring the MEI update in line with the SGR target. When expenditures exceed the SGR target, the update for a future year is reduced. If expenditures fall short, the update for future years is increased. This is an economic incentive for physicians to limit health care spending. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the system simply doesn't work. Healthcare spending continues to grow and physicians exceed their target expenditures every year. Subsequently, Medicare reimburses them less and less. The net result is that patients have less and less access to their physicians, and those patients covered by Medicare arguably are our nation's most frail and complex patients. This bill just introduced ends the application of the SGR January 1, 2007. Instead, we propose using a single conversion factor for Medicare reimbursement: The MEI, Medicare economic index, minus 1 percent. This eliminates the negative feedback loop that constantly creates a deficit in healthcare funding and introduces a more market sensitive system. Regarding quality measures, the American Medical Association and other physician organizations have been working to create a relevant evaluation system for outpatient healthcare. In conjunction with these organizations, we propose creating a voluntary system of evidence-based quality measures. Each physician specialty organization will create their own quality measures applicable to core clinical services which they will submit to a consensus building organization. Taken as a whole, these measures should provide a balanced overview of the performance. They will allow patients to better understand the quality of the healthcare providers they choose and be a fair assessment to reduce healthcare disparities across groups and regions. This will arm patients with critical information related to quality of care giving and give physicians a yardstick to measure their own performance and make improvements. Additionally, these provisions largely follow the spirit of an agreement brokered between medicine and leaders on the Hill when finalizing negotiations on the Deficit Reduction Act. To offset the cost of these changes, we are looking at multiple options: Redirecting the stabilization fund from the Medicare Modernization Act provides some funds. Also Medicare currently pays for indirect costs of medical education twice, directly and by inflating payments to Medicare Advantage plans. By paying only once, we can find additional money. Mr. Speaker, I would submit that there are other cost saving measures that can be employed, and we are certainly encouraging many groups across the healthcare spectrum to partner with us on this. A recent article in CQ Healthbeat News from January 25th talks about the changes that might occur in the SGR. We had a hearing on Tuesday. The article says, ``Tuesday's hearing may have marked progress of sorts, because not only were lawmakers at least talking about what was seemingly an intractable issue, but they actually offered some ideas for a down payment on a long-term fix. ``Offering a road map on the issue was legislation, H.R. 5866, that would erase the scheduled payment cuts while arming Medicare beneficiaries with more information on the quality of physician care. ``The bill would lower the MEI by 1 percentage point, which in 2007 would mean a payment increase of 2.7 percent. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission called for an update based on the MEI of 3.7 percent in 2007 minus an adjustment fact of 0.9 percent, essentially the same number. ``The bill would also enact recommendations by the Institute of Medicine to improve Quality Improvement Organizations which contract with Medicare to improve quality of care under the program. The bill would make the quality improvement activities of QIOs available to all providers, guarantee a minimum of funding for QIOs and a required review of their resources when the organization's duties are expanded.'' Mr. Speaker, I think this is a worthwhile bill. I think this Congress owes it to the patients and the physicians in this country that depend upon the Medicare system. We have done some great things with expanding the prescription drug program, but it is time to address some of the other shortcomings of the program.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for 5 minutes.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to welcome my pastor, Reverend Richard Kevin Barnard. I am honored Father Barnard is here today to lead us in glory and praise of our Almighty. Reverend Barnard has served as Rector of The Chapel of the Cross--a Reformed Episcopal Church--since July of 1989. He has also served Reformed Episcopal Congregations in New Jersey and New York. Before coming to The Chapel, Father Barnard was Director of Communications for the International Bible Society, which was then located in East Brunswick, NJ. In that capacity he was a regular participant in the monthly White House Forum for Religious Organizations during the Reagan Administration and represented the Bible Society at public and private events, traveling to Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Father Barnard is the author of two books and numerous articles, and is also a Past Master of Roy Stanley Masonic Lodge in Dallas. Before becoming a Reformed Episcopalian, the Reverend Barnard was a Baptist pastor, serving congregations in Missouri, Florida and Tennessee. He is a graduate of Baptist Bible College, Springfield, MO, and holds the Master of Divinity Degree from Cummins Theological Seminary, a Reformed Episcopal seminary in Summerville, SC. Father Barnard is married to the former Miss Paula Ann Henderson of Fort Worth, TX. They have four children and two grandchildren. Their youngest son, Adam, is currently serving aboard in USS Los Angeles (SSN 688), stationed at Pearl Harbor. Father Barnard's gracious presence and true dedication to the work and word of Christ is an instrumental part of my life. He guides his flock diligently and challenges us to remain faithful to pursuing our walk with Christ daily. I am thankful for his leadership and his presence here today. It is truly and honor.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today so that I may honor the American Legion Post 71 of Denton, Texas as they celebrate their 86th Anniversary. For close to a century, the American Legion Post and its members have selflessly served thousands of veterans and their families throughout North Texas. The American Legion, holding a 3 million part membership nationally, was chartered by Congress in the aftermath of World War I as a ``patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans' organization.'' Since its establishment, the American Legion has sworn ``to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism; to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in the Great Wars;'' to promote service and to harvest a healthy sense of community. Today there are over 15,000 posts world-wide. In celebration of their 86th Anniversary, Post 71 will honor the family of Ernest Dallas Jr., a Denton Veteran of the Iraq War, with a ``Fallen Heroes Memorial Plaque.'' Mr. Speaker, I applaud American Legion Post 71 for their honorable service to our nation and our heroes. I also recognize one of those heroes, Ernest Dallas Jr., who lost his life in Iraq not more than a year ago. Our nation truly owes a debt of gratitude to him and our other fallen soldiers for their admirable and unyielding service to our nation.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mary and Jim Horn for their lifetime of service to the city of Denton as well as the State of Texas. Ms. Mary Horn, formerly Mary Roberts, has had an important leadership role in both the government and business realms. Before she served as the first and only female Denton County Tax Assessor-Collector, she rose from the position of a flight attendant to become the Manager of Special Operations at Braniff. She was the first woman in that company to serve as an executive. From there, she moved on to manage her own business from 1982 to 1992, After serving two terms as the Denton County Tax Assessor-Collector, she ran and was overwhelmingly elected Denton County Judge. Again, she became the first and only woman thus far to serve in that capacity. In 1998, she was awarded the Outstanding Volunteer Award of the Denton County Republican Party. She was honored at the Texas Federation of Republican Women during their Tribute to Women at State Convention. In 1999, she was nominated for the ``Tax Assessor-Collector of the Year'' Award. Representative Jim Horn served in many important leadership roles. In 1969, he led the Aerosmith Corporation as the Executive Vice President. He followed this with a move to the role of Precinct Chairman. He then served as Denton County Republican Party Chairman and as the elected Committeeman on the State Republican Executive Committee. In 1980, he became the first Republican to be elected county-wide to a State legislator in over 100 years. To top off his career, Representative Horn was recognized for his efforts with the honorable ``Hat's Off'' Award for his many years of loyal service to the city of Denton as well as the State of Texas. Representative Jim Horn and his lovely wife Judge Mary Horn will be recognized in August for their many achievements with the dedication of the Mary and Jim Horn Government Center. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I stand here today to recognize them for their tireless public service. It has been a pleasure working with them both and representing them in Washington. I know that the city of Denton and the State of Texas would have been at a loss without their leadership.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a distinguished individual from my district who was recently crowned Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2006, Ms. Kristie Thomas. The Ms. Wheelchair Pageant, since its establishment in 1972, has promoted the many talents of our disabled citizens as well needs of the mobility impaired. Ms. Thomas, a native of Hickory Creek, is the pageant's most recent winner. Born 26 years ago with the condition known of cerebral palsy, she has fought for higher quality patient care as well as greater rights for the disabled. As Ms. Wheelchair Texas, Ms. Thomas will be an important spokeswoman for disabled men and women everywhere. Besides her crown, she also holds a degree in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M University and has established her own Christian clothing company. She also is a professional writer and hopes one day to become a politician. Mr. Speaker, it is with great to honor that I recognize Ms. Kristie Thomas for her title of Ms. Wheelchair Texas as well as for her continued service to disabled men and women everywhere. I am honored to represent her in Washington, and I know she serves as an inspiration to us all.