Buddy Carter

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the House passage of the 19th Amendment to amend the Constitution to guarantee women the right to vote. The struggle for women's suffrage was not an easy one, taking over a generation of women fighting to see it through to the end. Women like Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton took a great risk, stepping out of what many thought to be the role of women at the time to argue about the injustice they were facing. After speeches, petitions, and failed attempts at change, the initial group of women were not able to see their work through to the end but made great strides that enabled future women to finish the job. On this anniversary, I hope that we will all take the time to remember the hard work that these women had to put in to gain equal voting rights, to remember where our country has been and how we got to where we are today, and to remember that the right for everyone to vote is central to our democracy and a right that we need to continue to protect. I am grateful for the women who led this effort 100 years ago, and I believe that it is something that should inspire all of us

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the month of May as Mental Health Month for the 70th consecutive year. Unfortunately, throughout our history in the United States, many mental health conditions have been overlooked and often met with rejection, shame, and more. But mental health conditions truly touch us all. Between family members and friends, we all are either affected ourselves or we know someone with a mental health condition. Currently, 46.6 million adults in the U.S. have a mental health condition. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., and 90 percent of those who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness revealed by psychological autopsy. Less than half of adults in the U.S. are receiving adequate treatment for mental health. During the month of May, I encourage everyone to get a mental health checkup and to remember that your mental health is as important as your physical health. Please know, you are not alone, and it is okay to open up and share what you are going through.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Stuart Sligh, Sr., for winning the Savannah Morning News Unsung Hero Award for 2019. Presented annually at the Best of Preps banquet in the First Congressional District of Georgia, the award honors individuals who unassumingly offer their time and resources to local high school sports teams so they can perform at the highest level possible. This year's recipient, Mr. Sligh, Sr., founded the Stuart Sligh Jr. Memorial Foundation in honor of his 16-year-old son, a standout athlete at Savannah Country Day School in both baseball and football who tragically passed away in a car accident. Raising money in Stu Sligh's memory, the foundation has contributed over $50,000 to school athletics across the Savannah area, as well as other organizations in the State, like the YMCA. The donations have gone toward purchasing pitching machines for baseball teams, new jerseys for football teams, and much more. I thank Mr. Sligh for his work in our community and congratulate him on winning the 2019 Unsung Hero Award.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Alex Kunda for becoming the first student in the history of the Glynn County School System to have perfect attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade. When Mr. Kunda was 4 years old, his sister, Miranda, passed away from a rare illness. At that time, his sister had maintained perfect attendance through her time in elementary school and during her medical treatment. Receiving an award onstage on her behalf before her passing, Mr. Kunda pledged to his sister that he would continue her streak for as long as possible. Madam Speaker, 13 years later, he has done it. He hasn't been tardy. He hasn't been absent. He hasn't checked out one single time during his entire primary and secondary education. He and his family plan trips and appointments all around his ability to go to school, while fighting the urge to occasionally skip or use a sick day. Keeping a promise as difficult as this one should be an inspiration to us all. Congratulations, Mr. Kunda. Good luck at the College of Coastal Georgia.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for yielding and for the opportunity to speak on this bill. Mr. Chair, first of all, let me begin by thanking the gentlewoman from Georgia for proposing this amendment. Although I do find it unnecessary in a lot of ways, I have to admit that I applaud her, because educating our healthcare professionals and, therefore, educating the public about what is available is extremely important. I do have to tell you that I feel the pharmacy schools already do a good job of this, and this might be somewhat redundant. However, the underlying point is that more education is better even if it is overkill, if you will. Now, you ask me how I can say that. I have to say that I have to be consistent, and I have been consistent throughout that we need to educate the public. In fact, if we look back at the debate that we have had in the committee when we have been talking about the short-term plans, I made the point that we need to educate the public as to what is available. They need to know. Therefore, I would be inconsistent if I didn't agree with the lady that more education is better, because I have to tell you that these short-term plans--I believe that the other side refers to them as the junk plans. I have always said, if they are junk plans now, then they were junk plans during the Obama administration, because they were being offered then. But those short-term plans, we need to let people know about them. That is why I made an amendment in the committee to educate the public about the availability of these plans. Unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle disagreed with that, feeling that, no, they don't need to know about it. Here we have an opportunity to let people know more, and I have to admit that I would be in favor of that. I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment. Where I might be a little bit ambivalent toward which way to go, I have to admit that consistency is important. Short-term plans, we need to let people know about them. I fought for that. So I don't think I would be consistent if I went against this. I thank the gentlewoman for offering this.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I come before you today a very disappointed person; a disappointed Member of Congress; a disappointed pharmacist. I am disappointed that my Democratic colleagues have decided to prioritize politics over patients by packaging together bipartisan bills to lower drug costs with partisan bills to bail out ObamaCare. They are two completely different subjects. Republicans and Democrats have worked hard to create strong, bipartisan bills that will increase the amount of generic drugs entering the marketplace, bringing more affordable choices to patients. Now, House Democrats have chosen to use these bipartisan bills to pay for partisan ObamaCare bills. This bill includes major drug pricing proposals like the CREATES Act, and the pay for delay, which both seek to increase the ability of lower-cost generic drugs getting to the market quickly, providing patients with more affordable choices. We had long, hard-fought negotiations with our Democratic counterparts in multiple markups that ran until midnight over these two proposals, but we were eventually able to come to an agreement. The other drug-pricing bill in this package is a bill that I have worked on with my friend, Representative Schrader from Oregon, the BLOCKING Act. This bill mirrors the proposal from President Trump's budget proposal to keep bad actors from clogging up our generic drug pipeline. Hear me, Mr. Chair, and hear me clearly. This bill is the picture- perfect definition of good bipartisan legislation. Democrats are throwing that work away by prioritizing politics over patients. All three of these bipartisan drug-pricing bills save money, so the Democrats are choosing to use their hard-fought savings and wish lists for partisan politics. The bill before us today will throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the failed ObamaCare marketplace and further restrict patient choice. The bottom line is, there is no need for this course. Drug pricing should not be a partisan issue. In all of my years of being a pharmacist, I have seen patients struggle with the high cost of prescription drugs. Now that I am in Congress, I hear about it all the time from my constituents back home. We all do. Voters across the country sent us up here to work together on issues, like drug pricing. The three drug-pricing bills in this package show that we can, in fact, do that. We can work together on important issues. When we work together, we can achieve real results that help patients. But once again, we are letting politics become the priority instead of helping people. Republicans want to work together on drug pricing. The people want us to work together on drug pricing. I call on my colleagues to do the right thing. Let's put patients before politics. Mr. Chair, this is important. Strike these partisan poison pills in this bill and send our excellent drug-pricing work over to the Senate and on to the President's desk and have him sign them into law.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize this week, May 12 through 18, as National Police Week 2019. It is a privilege to take time this week to remember and honor our Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers who courageously defend American citizens and protect our communities. They selflessly put their lives on the line to ensure that this Nation is one of safety and order. Just this past week, in the First Congressional District of Georgia, this reality hit home when Sergeant Kelvin Ansari passed away in the line of duty while investigating a robbery. Overall last year, 158 police officers died in the line of duty across the country. As tens of thousands of police officers gather this week in Washington, D.C., and other cities throughout America, I hope that everyone will take some time to thank these individuals who work to keep us all safe. To all of our police officers, thank you for your service to our communities. God bless you.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sergeant Kelvin Ansari, who passed away in the line of duty on Saturday night at the age of 50. On Saturday night, Sergeant Ansari and Officer Douglas Thomas arrived to investigate a robbery in downtown Savannah. Both officers returned to the scene later that night after receiving a description of the suspect's car, who they thought had left the scene. However, the individual was still inside the car and opened fire. Both police officers were struck, but Sergeant Ansari later succumbed to his injuries. Joining the police department in Savannah in 2008, Sergeant Ansari had previously served in the United States Army for 21 years. He was a father of four, a husband, and a leader who dedicated so much of his life to protecting our country and our community. It is unfortunate in times like these that we are reminded of the danger that our police officers face each day in keeping our communities safe. Sergeant Ansari's family and friends, as well as the entire Savannah Police Department, are in our thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, and I thank him for his work. He truly has been a champion for his constituents. His father is a doctor and, certainly, he understands healthcare. As he mentioned, he was an insurance broker, he understands insurance. And a lot of what we talk about here is insurance. Let me try to articulate, if you will, exactly what I am talking about here. Some of the folks back home who are watching may be thinking, well, I don't really understand why the pharmaceutical manufacturers have to go through the PBMs. What happens is that insurance companies work on formularies. In other words, they say, if you have got this disease, or if you have got this health problem, these are the drugs that we are going to cover. The pharmaceutical manufacturer, in order to get their drug on that formulary, has to go to the PBM, the middleman, and has to offer them discounts, rebates, if you will, in order to get their product on that formulary. That is what we are talking about. That is where they have the pharmaceutical manufacturers by the short hairs, if you will. That is where they really put the pressure on. So that is really what we are talking about. Look, again, as I have said before, I am not opposed to anybody making money, but show me the value. I mentioned a hearing that we had earlier today in the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. I mentioned that we had some PBMs there. We had two PBMs there. One is one of the major PBMs that requires the pharmaceutical manufacturers to give them rebates in order to have their products listed on the formulary. And then another PBM was there, and they are just a flat fee. In other words, they just charge an administrative fee. That is all they charge. Again, PBMs, that is the way they evolved. All they were to begin with, when they started way back when, were just simply processors. But enough about what we have done here in Washington. Let's talk for just a minute about State legislators and what State legislative actions have been taken. Let me clarify and let me point out that I am not talking about just red States. I am not talking about just blue States. I am not talking about big States. I am not talking about small States. I am talking about all States, all the States in our union; I am talking about States like Ohio. Ohio's Department of Medicaid published a report in January detailing exactly how PBMs have been gaming the system; that's right; in Ohio. Ohio found that CVS--CVS is Caremark--that they had been using their role as the PBM for their State Medicaid program to pay CVS pharmacies as much as 46 percent more than competing pharmacies. Now, this is something else we need to talk about. We need to talk about what is referred to as vertical integration. That is, right now, where the insurance company owns the PBM and owns the pharmacy. The top three that I mentioned earlier that control 80 percent of the market, that is the case with all of them. CVS is the pharmacy. Caremark is the PBM. Aetna is the insurance company. Now, when we were talking to the PBMs today in the committee, we would ask them, what are you doing with these discounts? What are you doing with these rebates that you get? And they would tell us, well, we give them back to the plan sponsors, and the plan sponsors decrease premiums. Anybody seen their premium decreasing recently? I don't think I have. But think about it for a moment. If the insurance company owns the PBM, and owns the pharmacy, if the PBM is going to give it back to the insurance company, isn't that just taking money out of one pocket and putting it in the other pocket? I mean, if CVS--if Caremark is going to give back the money that they are saving in the third party with the PBMs to the insurance company, Aetna, that they also own--and they are not the only one. What about Express Scripts? Express Scripts just recently bought Cigna. So you have got Cigna as the insurance company. You have got Express Scripts as the PBM. And, oh, by the way, Express Scripts has their own mail order pharmacy and in terms of volume, they are the third largest in America. So, again, we have the situation there. Same thing goes with United, UnitedHealthcare owns Optum, and they have their own mail order pharmacy. So, there you have the three top PBMs, controlling 80 percent of the market; that also have their own insurance company, and they also have their own pharmacy. This is what happened in Ohio. Ohio discovered that Caremark, that third party, the PBM, was paying their pharmacy, CVS, 46 percent more than they were paying competing pharmacies. That is an example of where they were taking money out of one pocket and putting it in another pocket. What about New York State? Their State Medicaid reported that PBMs were pocketing a 32 percent markup on generic drugs; 32 percent markup on generic drugs; the drugs patients traditionally rely on to be more affordable than their branded alternatives. But New York caught them red-handed. I can go on and name State after State. The State of Arkansas called a special session to address the situation with PBMs. Just yesterday, my home State of Georgia, the Governor signed into legislation two bills dealing with PBMs; one of them that would prohibit PBMs from steering their patients to their own pharmacies and steering them away from other pharmacies, independent pharmacies. So this is just not the Federal Government acting on these issues. We have had States who have acted on these issues as well. So let's talk about a couple of other things that we have done in Congress. One thing that I want to mention, because I thought it was such an egregious thing that the PBMs were doing in the past--we, thankfully, were able to address this--was called the gag clause. Thankfully, we had legislation that I was honored to sponsor here in the House that was passed in the House, passed in the Senate, signed into law by the President. It addressed the gag clause. What is a gag clause? You want to talk about the audacity of the PBMs? Let me tell you about the audacity of the PBMs. As I mentioned earlier, about the pharmaceutical manufacturers being under pressure to give the PBMs discounts, rebates, if you will, in order to get their drugs on the formularies; well, independent pharmacies are the same way. They are under pressure. What the PBMs did is they told--they had a clause in their contract with the pharmacy, and it said that if a drug is cheaper if you buy it out of pocket, if you pay for it out of pocket, if you buy it for cash than the copay, you cannot tell the patient that. And if you do tell the patient that, then you run the risk of being kicked out of the network. Well, the reality is you can't afford to be kicked out of the network. If you lose thousands of bodies because that PBM controls that network, then you are out of business. So pharmacies had no other choice. Patients were paying more with their copay than what they would have paid for it if they would have simply paid out of pocket, just simply paid cash. We did away with that. Thank you, Mr. President, for signing that legislation. We addressed that in Congress. We said, no, that is not going to happen anymore. Now pharmacists can do what they were trained to do, and that is take care of their patients and tell them, Look, if you pay for this, you can buy it for $4 and you don't have to pay a $20 copay. You say, Well, how often did that happen? Well, let me give you just one example that happened in our committee, in the Energy and Commerce Committee. We actually had one of our Members who was the primary caregiver for her husband, who was very ill at the time. We had been talking about the gag clause, so she knew about it. She knew that pharmacists weren't allowed to offer that information. So she went into the pharmacy, and she was told that her husband's medication, no exaggeration, was going to be $600. She knew to ask the pharmacist. She said, What if I just pay for it out of pocket? What if I just pay you cash? How much will it be? $40. $40. Now, granted, this is an extreme example, but it is an example. Thank goodness we did away with that. I thank the Senate for passing this. I thank the House for passing it. I especially thank the President for signing this into law. Madam Speaker, this is a real problem. I want to conclude by saying that what we are trying to do here is to bring about transparency. Just show us what is happening. That is all we are asking for. I want to applaud the administration. I want to thank President Donald J. Trump for bringing this issue to light. This has been an issue that he has worked on. This is a nonpartisan issue. I never in my years of practicing pharmacy asked someone, Are you a Republican or a Democrat? That doesn't matter. This impacts everyone. I thank the President for his leadership on this and I thank the administration for these two proposed rules: doing away with DIR fees, making the rebates at the point of sale, so that they will truly go to the patient. These two rules that are being proposed by CMS will help get us to a point where we will have more transparency. That is what we need. Folks, this is a serious subject, a very serious subject. I have witnessed it firsthand, witnessed it in my practice of pharmacy for over 30 years. It is horrible when you see someone suffering who can't afford a medication. I call on the pharmaceutical manufacturers to do their part. They have got to do a better job with their pricing. They are not without responsibility here, and I think they understand that. But, Madam Speaker, we have got to have these two rule proposals passed, and I encourage CMS to follow through on this, do away with DIR fees, put the rebates at the point of sale. This will bring about transparency. I thank the administration for their support. I thank those who spoke here tonight. Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to bring to light this extremely important subject. Madam Speaker, I yield back.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, and I certainly appreciate his leadership here in the House. Madam Speaker, as you heard earlier from one of our speakers, CMS estimates that this change alone, doing away with the DIR fees--putting the discounts, the rebates, if you will, at the point of sale--will benefit the consumer, benefit the patient, and could save patients $7.1 to $9.2 billion. Now, let me tell you, that is significant. That is significant for those senior citizens that I was talking about earlier who are trying to make a decision between buying medicine and buying groceries. That is significant to that mother who is trying to buy the medication for her child. Those savings will help. Transparency will help. The savings are going to go much further than just this estimated seven to $9 billion, because as we get better transparency we will get lower drug prices. I am convinced of that. Madam Speaker, my next speaker is a gentleman who certainly understands this issue and has worked closely on it. He has been a champion on this issue. Representative Austin Scott, from Georgia, has gone to great lengths to study this issue. He has met with small pharmacies in his district. He has discussed with them the problem, and he understands it; and we are very, very fortunate to have him and his input. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott).

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank Dr. Dunn for his keen insight on this very important subject and for his comments. Madam Speaker, I have a couple other comments about PBMs. As I mentioned earlier, if you look at their website, if you look at what their mission statement is, it says that they are there to lower drug costs. Well, that is not working out very well. Let me say this: I am not opposed to anybody making money. I get it. That is capitalism, and that is fine. But three PBMs control 80 percent of the market--80 percent of the market. Three companies control that, three PBMs. The largest PBM, in 2016, had gross revenues that exceeded that of Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and McDonald's added together. Again, I am not opposed to anybody making money, but tell me how a company can make more than Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, McDonald's, and Ford Motor Company combined. To make matters even worse, those companies are worldwide. This PBM is just domestic. They are just here in America. Again, I am not opposed to anybody making money, but tell me the value they are bringing to the system. They are not bringing any value to the system. That is why I am in support of what CMS is proposing: doing away with the DIR fees; making sure that the rebates, the discounts, if you will, are given at the point of sale; and increasing transparency. Madam Speaker, the next speaker is a good friend, a member of the Georgia delegation, Congressman Rick Allen from Augusta. Rick is a businessman, a very successful businessman. He understands the challenges in business. Certainly, healthcare costs, I am sure, were challenges for him. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his keen insight on this subject. It is very important, and I appreciate his expertise. Madam Speaker, what the gentleman from Kansas was speaking about are two proposals that are before CMS right now. One proposal would do away with DIR fees. Now, let's make sure we understand that DIR stands for direct and indirect remuneration. This is when the PBMs go back months later--in some cases, years later--and recoup, or claw back, reimbursements for what they have already sent to the pharmacies. You can imagine what kind of impact this would have on a business. There is no sustainable business model out there that can absorb that. I get texts all the time from small pharmacy chains that are telling me: I just got a bill from the PBM. Last year, my total DIR fees were $500,000, a half million dollars. That is money they have already paid taxes on, but they are clawing it back. They are taking it back. CMS has proposed that that end. I am in support of that, and I appreciate CMS doing this. The other proposed rule that CMS has come out with has to do with the rebates, or discounts, if you will, that are offered to the PBMs by the pharmaceutical manufacturers--not offered to them, but the PBMs demand them from the pharmaceutical manufacturers. What CMS is proposing is that all of those rebates, or discounts, if you will, be given at the point of sale. What we are trying to achieve here is to make sure that those rebates, that those discounts, are going where they are supposed to be going, and that is to the patients. Keep in mind, everything we are talking about here is about the patient. We are talking about patient care. My next guest speaker is also an expert in healthcare. In fact, he is another one of the members of our Doctors Caucus, a urologist from Florida, Representative Neal Dunn, who, again, has practiced in the healthcare field and who has seen this with his patients. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn).

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am grateful for the time tonight to talk about a very important subject. As many Members know, currently, I am the only pharmacist serving in Congress, and that is something I take very seriously. Two of the things that I really wanted to concentrate on when I became a Member of Congress, among many things, but two of the main things were, first of all, prescription drug pricing--that is one of the things that we want to talk about here tonight--and the other thing that I wanted to concentrate on was the opioid epidemic. We have been very successful here in Congress in addressing that issue. Tonight I want to talk about prescription drug pricing because I have witnessed it. I have witnessed what I would describe as truly a crisis. After 30 years of practicing pharmacy, I have seen families struggle to pay for their medications. I have seen senior citizens at the counter across from me try to make a decision between buying medication and buying groceries. I have seen mothers literally in tears because they couldn't afford the medication for their children. When I came up to Washington, that was one of the things I wanted to concentrate on. We are very fortunate we have a President and administration who are focused on this issue as well and have done some outstanding things. Two of those things that are being proposed by the administration right now I want to talk about tonight, but the main thing I want to talk about is the prescription drug chain. Just earlier today, we had a hearing in the Energy and Commerce Committee, in the Health Subcommittee that I serve on, where we had representatives from the pharmaceutical manufacturers and from the PBMs, the pharmacy benefit managers, pointing fingers at each other and blaming each other for the problem. I have to tell you, in full disclosure, I am a big fan of the pharmaceutical manufacturers. What I have seen over my years of pharmacy practice has been nothing short of phenomenal. When I first started practicing pharmacy in the early 1980s, I can remember a time when, if you needed an antibiotic, you had to take 40 tetracycline. You had to take four a day for 10 days. Now you can take an antibiotic or get a shot in one day and be cured of some of the things that we were treating back there in 1980 with a 10-day supply. I have seen illnesses such as hepatitis C--and hepatitis C, when I first started practicing pharmacy, was pretty much a death warrant. If you were diagnosed with hepatitis C, you were probably going to die. Through the research and development of the pharmaceutical manufacturers, I have seen them come up with medication so that we can now treat hepatitis C. That is phenomenal. We can cure it with a pill, and it is because of the research and development that has been done through our pharmaceutical manufacturers and through the National Institutes of Health that we have reached this point. However, the price of those medications, in many cases, makes it inaccessible for people. If you have to pay $85,000 for a medication to treat hepatitis C, for many people, that is just simply not accessible. If that medication is not accessible, it does you no good whatsoever. I have called on the pharmaceutical manufacturers to do their part as well. They are not without responsibility here, and I think they understand that. Tonight, what I want to concentrate on are the PBMs, the pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen, if you will. If you look at their mission statement, they will tell you their mission is to lower drug costs. My questions to you would be: How is that working out? If that is working out, if they are achieving their mission, why are we here? Why are we here tonight talking about this, the high prescription drug costs? I submit to you that they bring no value whatsoever to the healthcare system. Madam Speaker, I am very blessed tonight to have a number of speakers here with us to share their expertise, and I want to hear from some of them right now. I want to begin with the gentleman from Kansas, Representative Roger Marshall, who also is a physician, was a hospital administrator, and knows and understands this system. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Marshall).

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject matter of my Special Order tonight.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Guyton United Methodist Church Men's Bible Class on the 63rd anniversary of its Fifth Sunday Morning Breakfast. Occurring on each fifth Sunday of the month, the morning breakfast has become an institution in Effingham County since 1956. The Bible class sends invitations across Effingham County and neighboring counties, and nearly everyone there knows about the breakfast. By inviting guest speakers from a number of different civic organizations, the breakfast is a unique opportunity for the citizens and religious community in Effingham County to engage directly in government and other types of public issues. Just recently, the Fifth Sunday Morning Breakfast hosted a guest speaker discussing his time deployed as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves in Bosnia and Afghanistan, as well as his service in the New York State Police Department. I want to thank the Guyton United Methodist Church Men's Bible Class for engaging all the citizens of Effingham County, and I am proud to have an organization like this in the First Congressional District of Georgia. Congratulations on their 63rd anniversary.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to the so-called Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act. Mr. Chair, this is a misnomer. A misnomer is defined as a wrong or inaccurate name or designation. That is what the title of this bill is. It is wrong. I join my colleagues on the Republican side in supporting protections for people with preexisting conditions. In fact, it was one of the first votes in Congress that we took this year, and it was defeated by my colleagues across the aisle. This bill, which is ironically, as I say, misnamed because it doesn't protect preexisting conditions, would take steps to roll back State efforts to innovate and lower premiums for Americans across the country. One issue I often hear about from my constituents is the cost of healthcare coverage and the lack of options available under ObamaCare. These waivers would allow for new strategies to address the high premiums that so many people are facing. In fact, of the States that created their own reinsurance programs, they saw, on average, a nearly 20 percent drop in premiums, one State seeing a drop as high as 43.4 percent. As States continue to grapple with high insurance costs, they have looked to these innovative waivers for opportunities to bring about new ideas that help people, not remove options and opportunities. We all know that there is an issue with affordability of insurance in many areas. It should be known that this isn't as though it is just more conservative States moving forward with these reinsurance programs. States like New Jersey, where the chairman is from, and Minnesota and Maryland have seen the benefits of this. Mr. Chair, that is why I urge my colleagues to give States the flexibility they need to reduce premiums and to vote ``no'' on this legislation.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Command Sergeant Major Carol Warren-Clark on her retirement after serving over 30 years in our United States Armed Forces. She has dedicated her time in the military to healthcare, administering it in nearly every capacity imaginable to keep our soldiers healthy. In Afghanistan, she was responsible for medical evacuation plans. At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, CMS Warren-Clark directed all inpatient services. She also led a medical team for the 57th Presidential inauguration. Her latest position has been as command sergeant major for the Winn Army Community Hospital located in the First Congressional District of Georgia, where her ability to increase efficiency and readiness has shined. By decreasing administrative costs 5 percent at the hospital and boosting soldier deployment readiness 5 percent, she has made significant contributions to every soldier and our military as a whole. Mr. Speaker, I thank Command Sergeant Major Warren-Clark for her commitment and her service to our Nation. Enjoy your retirement, and congratulations.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the partnership between the city of Savannah and the 165th Airlift Wing, symbolized by one of their aircrafts recently being named the ``Spirit of Savannah.'' Commemorating the C-130 airplane with its new name on Tuesday, April 9, the ceremony was a special occasion. It is now the only aircraft at the 165th that bears a unique designation and seal. I can't thank the members of the 165th Airlift Wing enough for their service. They have flown to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist with hurricane recovery efforts. Just a few weeks later, they flew to Iraq and Syria to support missions against ISIS. The work they do, based out of the First Congressional District of Georgia, helps keep our Nation and the entire world safe.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Savannah College of Art and Design on its 40th anniversary. In 1978, an elementary school teacher, Ms. Paula Wallace, wanted to start a college in her hometown dedicated to the arts. Beginning with 71 students, SCAD now has over 55,000. The school has four campuses, in Savannah, Atlanta, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France. It has countless alumni who have gone on to successful careers in photography, abstract art, film, interior design, and so much more. In addition to providing college students with an exceptional art- centered education, they have given back to our community 10 times over, hosting art festivals, public concerts, and fashion shows. Locations important to our city's history and culture have been restored by its students: the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home, the Victory Drive corridor, and the Massie Heritage Center. I thank everyone at SCAD--the faculty, administrators, and students alike--for their contributions to our area. As a native Savannahian, I have always said that SCAD was the catalyst for the renovation of downtown Savannah. I thank Paula Wallace for bringing SCAD to Savannah and leading its success over the last four decades, and I congratulate it on its 40th anniversary.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Les Wilkes, who is being honored at the Legends, Leaders, and Life Well Lived Award luncheon on May 9. Well deserving of this honor, he should be an inspiration to us all about how to constantly strive to make the world a better place to live. Dr. Wilkes practiced orthopedic surgery in Savannah for over 40 years. Before that, he served in the United States Navy as an orthopedic surgeon. After his retirement, he partnered with Hospice Savannah to provide photographs for the clients. He continues his work with our veterans by serving in Honor Flights, escorting veterans to Washington, D.C. Dr. Wilkes is also the unofficial photographer for Wesley United Methodist Church in downtown Savannah where he and his wife, Ge-Juan, and their son, Lee, and his family have worshipped for many years. I couldn't be prouder to have him in the First Congressional District of Georgia. I thank Dr. Wilkes for his service, both in the military and in our communities. He continues to truly exemplify a life well lived. recognizing savannah college of art and design

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Richard ``Dick'' Eckburg, who is being honored at the Legends, Leaders, and Life Well Lived Award luncheon on May 9. Well deserving of this honor, he should be an inspiration to us all about how to constantly strive to make the world a better place to live. A Korean war veteran, Dick worked at UPS for 32 years, eventually becoming the vice president of public affairs. Since then, he has dedicated countless time and resources to numerous charitable organizations around the Savannah area, including the Telfair Museum, the Lucas Theatre, the Bethesda Academy, and many more. Dick's work with each of these organizations, along with that of his wonderful wife, Judy, has changed the face of Savannah and improved the lives of many in our community. I couldn't be prouder to have him in the First Congressional District of Georgia. I thank Dick for his service in the military and especially for his service to our community. He continues to truly exemplify a life well lived. honoring dr. les wilkes

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Linnie ``Papa'' Darden, who is being honored at the Legends, Leaders, and Life Well Lived Award luncheon on May 9. Well deserving of this honor, he should be an inspiration to us all about how to constantly strive to make the world a better place to live. Mr. Darden has dedicated much of his life to young people, teaching deaf children in Ethiopia and counseling teenagers on life skills and drug education here in the United States. At the young age of 80, he earned a Ph.D. in religious counseling with a thesis on at-risk youth. Along with serving youth at home and abroad, he served in our Nation's Armed Forces. I couldn't be prouder to have him in the First Congressional District of Georgia. I thank Mr. Darden for his service, both in the military and in our communities. He continues to truly exemplify a life well lived. honoring richard eckburg

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life of Mr. Roy Kent Hodnett who passed away at the age of 98 on Friday, April 26. Known throughout Glynn County in the First Congressional District as a gentleman with a caring personality, he brightened the day of everyone around him. He served in France during World War II directly after D-day, earning the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Victory Medal. When he came home to the United States, he stopped in St. Simons Island while vacationing, fell in love with the area, bought a home that same weekend, and started raising a family. While there, he built one of the most successful companies in the area, Hodnett Cooper Real Estate and Vacation Rentals. Through all of this, Mr. Hodnett's passion was with his family and his community. For him, the key to a successful business was having a wife of 75 years who has stood beside him and believed in him. He also mentored and advised countless young people, helping them to find their own paths through life. I am proud to have had Mr. Hodnett spend so much of his life in the First Congressional District of Georgia. His family and friends will be in my thoughts and prayers during this time.

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Milton ``Woody'' Woodside for serving more than 30 years as president of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce. After graduating from the Citadel, Mr. Woodside has dedicated his entire career to public service. Without his work, coastal Georgia would likely look very different than it does today. To start, he worked 13 years for the First Congressional District of Georgia with Representatives Bo Ginn and Lindsay Thomas. Since his work with the House of Representatives, he has held the top position with the Chamber of Commerce and is one of the longest continually serving chamber leaders in Georgia. In his position with the chamber, Mr. Woodside advocated for the creation of the South Georgia Parkway, funding to deepen the Port of Brunswick, a replacement for the Sidney Lanier Bridge, the building of both the Golden Isles Convention Center along with the Career Academy, and much more. Whether it was at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., the statehouse in Georgia, or the mayor's office in Brunswick, Mr. Woodside was constantly working to help Brunswick grow. Although he is retiring on May 15, I am sure that Mr. Woodside will continue to help the Brunswick community in any way he can. Woody, thank you for your service. You have been an inspiration to all of us. You were an icon in our community. Our community thanks you, our State thanks you, our country thanks you, and I thank you, my friend. Remembering Roy Kent Hodnett

Mr. CARTER of Georgia

Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for hosting this today. This is extremely important. Mr. Speaker, I have the honor and privilege of representing the First Congressional District of Georgia, a district that includes the entire coast of Georgia, over 100 miles of pristine coastline. We are very proud. The coast of Georgia is my home. That is where I have lived all of my life, where I was born, and I was raised, and where I intend to live the rest of my life. I love the coast of Georgia, and I have always said that I am going to protect the coast of Georgia, and I am. Mr. Speaker, climate change is real. Protecting our environment is real. We understand that. Since day one, the climate has been changing. Yes, industrialization has had an impact on it as well. We understand that. In order to represent my constituents, I believe our Nation needs to be working in a responsible way, a responsible way to prepare ourselves for future weather events while striving for cleaner and more affordable energy sources. Mr. Speaker, in an 11-month period, we had two major hurricanes on the Georgia coast: Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma. The number of hurricanes appears to be increasing and there are those who would argue that the intensity of those hurricanes are increasing. That is something we are concerned with. Mr. Speaker, I serve on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, as well as on the Environment Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and that is very important. That is where I need to be as the Representative of the coast of Georgia. I need to be on those committees. This is where I want to be. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, to address this problem, the majority party, the Democrats, have offered H.R. 9. It is coming to the floor this week and it is not a solution. It is not a solution to climate change. What it is, is government overreach at its best. It disallows the President from withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. It puts our economy, our national security, and our ability to make our environment cleaner in danger, while other nations, as was pointed out by my colleague from Louisiana, other nations just simply continue on. They aren't held by these same principles. China right now is responsible for 30 percent of the pollution in the world, and yet they aren't abiding by this. They aren't even a part of the Paris climate agreement. They are not even participating in this until 2030. As my colleague pointed out, again, they can just continue to increase pollution while here in America, if the President is not allowed to get us out of this climate agreement, we are going to have to adhere to that. That is not fair, and it is not going to help if China is not held to the same principles that we are held to. Mr. Speaker, between the year 2000 and 2014, the United States decreased emissions by more than 14 percent, in fact, by more than 18 percent, but China's emissions have increased. They have doubled since the year 2000, and they are significantly higher than the U.S. right now. The U.S. is already leading the way without the Paris climate agreement. We are leading the way. We are the economic leader, and we can't let a half-baked policy like H.R. 9 jeopardize that status. Companies in our country are responsible, and they are leading the way. As my colleague from Louisiana mentioned, we had a meeting earlier today of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. We had witnesses who told us about companies that are involved in this that already, on their own accord and on their own initiative, are doing things and putting in place programs that are going to help with climate change. For example, there is a startup called 4Oceanis that has collected 4.2 million pounds of ocean garbage. If we put our economy at risk through expensive regulations and mandates, then we risk losing companies like this and the capital that they have necessary to invest in these projects. As my colleagues stated earlier, we have to have an all-of-the-above approach. In order to control climate change, we need three things: We need adaptation; we need mitigation; and we need innovation. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 9 is bad policy. Again, as my colleague pointed out earlier, it was brought about without even a subcommittee hearing. It was rushed through. This is a very important subject. This is a very important subject that can't be rushed. We can't take this lightly. We have to take this seriously. We are taking it seriously in the Republican Party. The Democrats didn't think about the real consequences of this bill. Here we have the Green New Deal, pie in the sky that would ruin our economy by $93 trillion, and it includes things such as healthcare for all. Now, what has that got to do with climate change? Absolutely nothing. We need to concentrate; we need to focus; and we need to have real, commonsense solutions to this. That is what we are proposing. But here we have politics as usual on Capitol Hill with Democrats bringing this to the floor. They couldn't care less about the impact on our economy or the impacts on real people. This legislation, H.R. 9, quite frankly, would be better off being called the ``U.S. Energy Disadvantage Act.'' That is what they ought to call it. Having said all this, Mr. Speaker, I will tell you--and I mean this sincerely--I am excited. I am excited about the future of clean energy. I am excited about the future of innovation in America. We have the greatest innovators in the world right here in America. We have the smartest scientists in the world right here in America. If we simply give them the chance to do their work, then they will do it. I am convinced of that. Yes, we need to incentivize it and we need to encourage it, but we don't need to be an obstacle, and we don't need to be in the way. Look at the internet, arguably one of the greatest inventions in modern times. Where did that come from? Right here in America. I am excited. I am convinced that we can come up with real solutions to this. Unfortunately, H.R. 9 is not one of those real solutions. H.R. 9 is going to ruin our economy. The Green New Deal, are you kidding me? That kind of pie-in-the-sky type of legislation has no place. We need real solutions. Citizens sent us up here to come up with real solutions, not some pie-in-the-sky idea. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 9 and deliberate on real solutions that will make our world cleaner and improve our environment without destroying our economy.